His Heir
by Elielephant
Summary: Law had a mage and with a strong rivalry between them, Kidd wanted one too, but when he finds one she is more then he bargained for since she is the one to order her devils, not the other way around.
1. Chapter 1: The Heir meets the Devil

So this is a spin off to my story Bones and it starts after Kidd's meeting with Ameria and goes on from there. This is a Kidd story with a female OC, but I don't know if it will turn out to be a romance or not...romances are meant to have cute moments, but I don't think Kidd can pull off cute moments like Law can...and the only reason why I think Law can pull off cute moments and still be in character is because he has Bepo...

**Edited: I really didn't like the first 10 chapters of this story, it feels rather forced to me, so I'm going back and changing them since it's summer time now and I have the time to do it. This really doesn't effect people who are new to reading this story nor does it change the storyline plot in anyway, but it's just a little heads up I suppose. Also, this _does_ turn into a romance. :) So this is like over 2000 more words than my original chapter one, which means it should have been separated into two chapters. Can't go back and change it now so, please bear with me (No pun intended, and you'll see why next chapter) on the long-ness of this because it probably drags... Also if there are grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out to me. I always miss stuff.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 1: The Heir meets the Devil.<p>

The night was thick with smoke from fires burning brightly from the festival raging on with happiness from the villagers as they celebrated the anniversary of their small town. It was on a island surrounded by jagged rocks that were near impossible to navigate through, until the town's good-old founder discovered a way through. That allowed the town to mine the minerals hidden in the stone, which were actually minerals that the Marines needed in their explosives for battle. The town was careful with their fires though, making special containers that held the flames and caught the sparks so nothing would accidentally set their island into a dark orange blaze. So, the town was lit, keeping the streets bright for walking in the dead of night as the party continued on into the late hours of evening. Though, the alleyways had a shadow cast over them, keeping those within hidden from sight.

The darkness of both the night as shadows covered her wandering eyes following the towns folk that were living out the party to the best of their ability; drunk men stumbling around and women scurrying children along from the bad influences. But despite that, the villagers were all happy and carefree, feelings of worry and fear never entering their joyous minds as they walked in clumps down the street; smiles spreading from ear to ear and laughs hanging around them as a cloud. They just continued on their way through the festival, stopping to play a game that peeked one's interest or because a food stall was calling to their stomach's rumbling.

They didn't sense anything, especially the her presence in the shadows of an alleyway to the side, standing calm and relaxed as she stared out and watched.

A small gush of wind blew passed her ginger hair that curled out loosely from the side her hood, the orange tint absorbing the small amount of light that was allowed in the darkness of the shadows, making the ginger locks glow brightly for only a second. She shook her head lightly so the misplaced curls fell back into their proper places and then she brushed her fingers across her forehead to push her bangs out of her eyes. But then she grabbed a small lock of her hair and started to twist it between her forefinger and thumb, rolling it around as she examined it.

Her hair was an odd shade, she hadn't seen a color like it before, though she was sure it was out there somewhere on another's head beside her own. It was a precious trait past down from her great, great, great grandfather though, just like her metallic eyes, which was another rare trait to see. She cherished these traits and bore them proudly with much pride, but not because they labeled her different, rather because she got them from her ancestor.

Most people from her home island thought that she, of all people would hate this fact; the fact she was related to _him_ since he caused so much harm, but she didn't. She knew the _truth_ unlike most people did, and that is why she was on this mission. To bring down the devious _being_ that caused her and her family grief and hardships for over a century.

She tossed the lock between her fingers away, letting the curl fall back into place as she let out a small growl at the fierce thoughts festering in deep scars that had tainted her family tree. If there was one thing she was going to do, it was bring that _thing _down and avenge her Ohdan so that he would be able to rest at peace after his death at the gallows long ago. That's why her master Calamity sent her on this mission: to find the missing gem. Calamity said it was the missing key to get the power needed to put the plan into motion, but sadly it was lost after the Council hid it away. They were cautious of the woman they used to look up to, and now, she was forced to send her top students to bring it back, but it was taking longer than anyone would have hoped.

Though, she was a summoner, also known as a warlock to those of the olden times, and she could use her magic to teleport herself from one island to the next, but she was a bit..._picky_ with using her magic when she really didn't need to. But she would rather use her magic than be on a ship for months; that would just take forever to find the gem. Still, she had to do one or the other and magic usually won, but it would still take some time for the log post to set at each island. She had to wait and when the log was ready, she channeled her magic into the compass-watch after it's needle pointed in the new direction, and then she could teleport. She always landed on the docks, which was sometimes the worst place to be because it was crowded, and in truth, this time had caused her a bit of trouble.

'_Apparently_' she had landed feet first on the back of a captain of an '_apparently_' powerful pirate crew. She could have cared less since this crew was nowhere in the papers, thus labeling them as unimportant. So, she simply walked away casually from the back of the moaning captain and his stunned wide-eyed crew without a glance back, like nothing even happened.

They weren't happy about that. How did she know this? Because they were on the other side of the alleyway and they faces said everything.

"There you are, you dirty wench." The pirate captain snarled through his clenched teeth, bitter anger twisting his face into a deadly sneer. "I have nasty sores from your fucking boots. You're lucky I have a...kind heart towards women and I didn't kill you right off the bat, but I think you still owe me an apology."

She turned her head slowly and glanced at them from over her shoulder to inspect what she was going to be up against. There were three of them: the captain in the middle rubbing his bruised back, a large gruff man to his right and a thin, lanky man to his left. She scoffed; they didn't look strong enough for her to break down by their appearance. She felt like she could handle this easily, even without her magic, but that didn't mean she wasn't out of the storm yet; she didn't know how tough they really were. She didn't let that show though, so she calmly moved away from the wall, faced the group and stared at them from behind the shadow of her hood.

The captain's anger was visibly boiling, and she even started to see him trembling, like he was insulted by her silence. "Not talkin' eh?" He bit out, closing his eyes for a split second as his hand gripped the hilt of the saber strapped to his belt, then his eyed snapped open wide. "Looks like I'm gonna have to make you apologize!" He sneered furiously, whipping out his blade.

Though, he wasn't the one that moved, it was the large muscular man next to him that started to charge, like the blade coming out was the secret signal ordering _go_. The large man let out a furious roar, and she was surprised that the villagers didn't notice the scream, maybe they were all to drunk with laughs to care.

She mentally braced herself, never staggering from her stance as she saw him barreling quickly towards her small form, whirling out an axe that had be strapped and hidden on his back. Her eyes flickered with slight worry over the weapon larger than herself, but that dissolved and she then let out a soft sigh at the man. He, his entire body, weapon and movements were defying all the laws of physics since his legs were short and stumpy compared to his upper body, the torso bursting with muscles. He should have fallen over flat on his face due to the disproportions, but that was what the large man's weakness was: he was wide, not tall, so in the end, his head was returned back to his captain feet and his body crumbled to the ground at hers.

The lanky man eyes narrowed angrily, full of hate at the sight of her spear and his crewmate's blood dripping from the large, sharp blade's edges. He didn't waste time in rushing at her quickly and pulling out knifes from his belt.

She noted quickly that the lanky man was much faster than his mate, but she could be just as fast when she needed to be and her spear moved forward, plunging into his flesh, red gushing from the wound. Then with a swift move upward, his frail, lifeless form when flying backwards into the street, finally causing the carefree people in the crowds to scream in fear at the bloody body that plummeted into the middle of the road from the sky.

The captain did not looked pleased, his jaw locked and his teeth grinding together as his grip tightened on his saber and then he moved, advancing to her with great speed that she almost didn't see it coming. Almost. He raised the blade high over his head, his mouth opened to let out a battle cry, but no words came out and all movements stopped when the heel of her boot make contact with his stomach, but he didn't fly back in the air from the impact like he should have because he was stuck to the dagger sticking out from the heel of her boot.

She grunted, twisting the hidden dagger further into his gut so that the wound would get larger, going from something minor to major with just a small turn of her heel. The captain rasped at the pain, dropping his saber to the ground with a metallic clatter that echoed off the walls of the alley and his hands went to her ankle, but she pushed forward and backwards roughly so the dagger came out of the captain's stomach. He stumbled back weakly, tripping to the ground as he clutched the large bleeding gash.

His breath started to get shallow, but he still had enough energy to say one more thing and he questioned: "Wh—who are you?" he looked up at her with wide eyes.

"I…" she started, placing her spear to her back again. "…am Roland Gabriella." she stared down at him with a cold and serious glare, but a sense of pride and honor seemed to swell in her eyes as she looked down at the bleeding man below her. "And I am Caden's Heir."

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><p>It was midnight, and his crew was lucky he didn't go to bed yet or else they would have seen hell rather than create it, but Kidd was actually in a good mood since he could hear screams before he even stepped foot on the docks; even before he even left the deck of his ship and just when he was coming out the door that lead to the hallway going to his quarters. He grinned devilish at the thought that people were already screaming at the sight of <em>his<em> ship and what was going to become of them if he was in a bad mood or was bored out of his mind. It was always a good thing to know that he had innocent little pests running into town to warn the others that the Kidd Pirates were docked and ready to cause chaos.

But no, the screaming wasn't because of him.

As he walked the streets of the town he saw that there was no one. There were signs that a festival was going on, but no villagers were crowding around stalls of trinkets and food. At first, he thought it was just because they all went screaming into their houses to hide, locking every door and window in an attempt to save themselves, but that wasn't it. When he got further into the quiet streets for the mining village, he heard a loud buzzing murmur of people in a panic state, which drew him closer. He thought they gathered to discuss his arrival, and he was going to tell them personally how..._honored_ he felt, but that was when he saw that everyone was gathered into one spot because of a bloody, wide eyed-corpse in the middle of town square.

He scoffed at the petty sight, though he would admit there was a small amount of mild curiosity swarming in his gut, by it was easily over ruled by anger because he was pissed off when no one paid attention to him, the _true_ reason to be scared, and not some moron who couldn't keep his gut in. He was about to cause a little..._uproar_ of his own to grab the people's attention, but then something caught onto his sense of smell: blood. His head turned to the side, his eyes glancing in the direction of the smell; it was a scent he was very familiar with and it wasn't from the bloody body in town square, but rather from a narrow alleyway.

Shadows engulfed the area, making it prefect for a murderer to find its prey, especially with all the people out partying; a drunk could easily slip into the darkness for the waiting knife. Though, that murderer was going to have one hell of a wake up call if he tried to sink his blade into Kidd's throat. So, casually walking over to the side and away from the crowd with Killer right behind, Kidd strolled into the alley. The darkness acted as a veil, but the black hue couldn't hide the main massacre that the fear-stricken villagers failed to notice: a large headless body and a half dead, but soon to be dead, man, moaning and clutching at his stomach.

Kidd grinned at the sight; he thought this would be a boring little town he would leave in flames thanks to the..._special_ little treat in the stone, but he might actually get something, that something being a new member to his crew, before he left it like that.

Kidd stepped forward, crouching down to grab the collar of the man's shirt and then stood up, questioning: "Who did this?"

The man let out a gasp for air that he was going to lose soon; it looked like he wasn't going to last much longer, but he was able to mutter one thing. "...Caden's Heir..." the man croaked out, then violently hacked up blood as he coughed and the iron liquid dribbled down the corners of his lips.

Kidd's sneering grin fell to a frown and his eyes narrowed into a scowl. "That's not helpful," and it wasn't; he needed a name, not a title.

The man started to wheeze, but managed to answer with a harsh cough. "...Roland..." he said. "Now please...help me..."

Kidd's frowned turned back into a devilish grin. "I'm not known for doing random acts of kindness..." he mused mockingly. "But...I'll make an exception just this once."

The man forced a weak smile, closing his eyes, but then they shot back open when cold steel rushed into the skin of his neck and blood gushed passed the metal to stain it in red.

"Roland, huh..." Kidd said slowly in thought, throwing the body roughly, making it crash against a wall with a _thud_ and then he flicked his dagger in the air to get rid of extra blood before he placed it back in its proper place in the strap across his chest. Then he turned to face Killer, who was standing beside him silently the whole time. "Let's look for this 'heir' named Roland. He might be of good use to us." Kidd gave his first-mate a sneering grin as he brushed passed the masked blonde to begin his search.

Killer just nodded his head and followed his captain's orders.

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><p>Kidd and Killer split up in the small town to cover more ground quicker since there was a festival going on, though it was put on hold to investigated the deaths of the three men. It didn't stop his captain, even though he would be the prim suspect, not that Kidd would care, Killer knew that for a fact. He just hoped that Kidd didn't do anything stupid that would set the island on fire since it was made up of explosive mineral. But...Killer did wonder how the town mined; very carefully probably, but that wasn't important right now; he was on a mission. Luckily, the town wasn't something big and complex, rather it was a simple city plan: four roads that crossed together to make a number sign, but an extra large one, the main one, that went to the center of town to the docks and Killer walked around the small alleyways that weren't on the map, looking for his target: Roland.<p>

He didn't have a clue where this man would even be, or what he even looked like for that matter, but there was one thing that Killer had on his side: the smell of blood. The aura of death would surely give this Roland away in a flash, and what better place to look than a gruff-looking bar by the docks since that was where all the sailors went when they didn't want to take part in the party of the island.

The smell of rotten and stale fish invaded his nose, even through his mask. Not a pleasant smell, but it was nothing like the smell of death mixed with blood and burnt flesh, so it was an easy smell to over come. Killer scanned over the shacks lined up along the docks, seeing that more of them were closed save for one that still had burning yellow lights gleaming through the glass windows. As he got closer, he could hear drunk men laughing about something, what that was, he didn't care, he just continued to approach the building. But before he could even reach the door, a man flew out through the window, breaking glass that fell to the grimy ground with a piercing shatter.

"_Don't make fun of my ears!_" A woman screeched out loudly in a harsh voice, causing all the laughing to come to a screeching halt.

The man on the ground didn't even bother looking up at Killer before he was stumbling up onto his feet and darted away from the bar around a corner so he disappeared in an alleyway.

Curious, Killer was about to go inside, but stopped as a woman, and he thought was the one who had screamed, stepped out.

She was grumbling under her breath in a foreign langue, which was somewhat at surprise since he quite a few, but then she noticed him staring at her. "Who are you?" She asked harshly as she fixed the hood on her head.

"I don't have to answer that," Killer bluntly answered.

"Fine then, don't," she snapped back full of attitude, glaring at him sharply with narrow golden eyes and she was about to turn away, but Killer grabbed her by the arm.

"But I have a question for you," he told her simply; she gave him that weird aura of death, so maybe she knew about this 'heir'.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Tell me who you are and maybe I will answer," she retorted with the same fiery tone in her voice and tried to move her arm away from his hand, but he kept his grip.

"Killer." He answered shortly; maybe his name would spark a memory of who he was since she was obviously oblivious to that fact.

Her brow rose in amusement. "That's a funny name."

"Doesn't matter," he snapped; was she that stupid not to know who he was? "Now my question."

"I never said I'd answer it. I said maybe," she informed him smugly.

"…" Killer was on his last nerve, which gave the woman an opening to rip her arm from his grip, only for him to lash his hand out again towards it and gripped it harder. "Sorry, but whether you want to answer or not, I still have a question."

"Fine, whatever," she huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes. "Just ask. I'm in a hurry," she told him, pulling her arm away from him again for a third time, but Killer let her go willingly this time.

"Do you know a man named Roland?" He asked.

She blinked in confusion. "Roland…" she looked up, saying the name smoothly as it rolled off her tongue, like she had heard it before.

"He's known as Caden's Heir." Killer elaborated, but the next thing he knew the woman was laughing at him.

"Caden's heir isn't a guy!" She laughed out loudly, shaking her head to make her rich ginger curls swing back and forth with the movement.

Killer paused for a moment, slowly letting the information roll in his mind as the woman continued to laugh. "So you know_ her?"_ He corrected himself; would Kidd still want Roland to join even though _he_ was a _she?_ Maybe; in Killer's opinion, Kidd needed to have a woman around, he was less..._testy_ when there was, depending on the girl of course.

"Of course I do, because _I am_ her. I'm Roland Gabriella." She declared, a sense of pride swimming around her form as she smiled brightly.

Killer's response to that was flinging her over his shoulder and walking away to find his captain.

"_Hey!_" She seethed out in anger. "What's your problem? Put me down or else I'll _literally_ send you to hell!"

"I've _made_ hell, so anywhere you 'try' and 'send' me, will do nothing." Killer bluntly told her, though he was confused by the threat.

"You obviously don't know what I mean, do you?" She scoffed.

"No, and I really don't care," and Killer left it at the so that he could search for his captain's flaming set of hair, because that's always how to found Kidd.

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><p>Gabriella grumbled under her breath as she tapped her finger nails against the lean yet muscular back of her captor. She didn't bother struggling since she knew who she was up against, <em>Massacre Machine Killer<em>. Sure, she may have acted like she didn't know, but she also didn't know she was being looked for by the Kidd Pirate's; those three men possibly weren't apart of his crew, unless they were in an alliance or something then she was in trouble. By _Mortalitas's Dark Name, _she was in a pickle if she was being taken to the masked blonde's captain.

"Kidd."

She moaned lightly, she was either in a world for hurt or she use her magic to get out of this problem, though she had to debate between fighting or teleporting. Fighting could cause a fire, and she didn't want the island to explode on her, but she still had four more days before her log post set so she could teleport to a new island. Maybe just a different spot on the island, yes, that would be a good idea.

"Mind explaining," the voice of the pirate captain mused, and Gabriella didn't need to look around to know that he probably had grin spread across his lips at the awkward situation she was in.

She always hated that smile on his face when she saw his bounty posters.

"This is Roland," Killer answered shortly.

"So he's a she's, eh? Can't believe a little girl like this could kill three guys like that without a scratch," Kidd almost sounded impressed, the key word being almost.

"It is hard to believe, she also kicked some guy three times her size out a window." Killer agreed with his captain.

A vein started to bulge on her forehead at the conversation going on, making her extremely irritated with how things were going. "You know I'm right here, so don't talk like I'm not," she stated coldly from Killer's shoulder, twisting her body to glance over at the red head.

Kidd looked just as stupid as he did in his bounty posters with that stupid coat, no matter how warm it looked or how nicely it framed his muscular chest, he still looked...stupid. Like his goggle; ewe. The pirate captain glanced at her, then his gaze went back to Killer, then he jerked his head upward a little, and Killer must have understood the order because he placed her back on the ground, though not so gently since she stumbled a bit from the quick and rough force, almost falling into Kidd's chest. Okay, she did kinda fall into the pirate captain, making him chuckle deeply.

She scurried away from him, turning around to send the smirking jack-ass a dark scowl. "You're all a bunch of brutes." She huffed in irritation, turning away from the red head to dust off her black robe, making the chains on her robes jingle lightly with the movement.

"Seems you're a violent one." Kidd stated, ignoring her comment. "And you are the one that killed all those men in the alley?" He asked.

"Maybe, maybe not." She avoided the question.

"I'll take that as a yes," he corrected, his smirk growing wider.

"_Ceh_." She scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"How about you join my crew," he offered bluntly. "I could always use violent people like you on my ship."

"Thanks but, no thanks." She declined the not-so tempting offer without hesitation, waving a hand to brush it aside and then she started to turn away on her heel. She wasn't in trouble with the pirate crew, so why both sticking around when it wasn't necessary.

"Sorry, but you don't have an option." Kidd countered slyly, and when she heard the odd sound of electric currents, she turned around to see dark purple sparks crackled from his hand and pulse against the bare skin of his arm.

_Not good, not good_, was the only thing swimming through her mind since she knew about the red head's devil fruit powers and Gabriella felt a small tug on the metal chains that hung from her clothing and soon she was being pulled through the air back to the pirate captain against her will. She let out a cry of rage when his hand gripped onto the chain that hung decoratively across her shoulders.

"You're coming with me, _babe_." He sneered with a grin, pulling her up off her feet to look her in the eyes.

She felt her brow twitch violently when he used such a pet name on her. "_I think not!_" She protested with a deadly glare, and she knew that now was the time to use her magic, and her hands started to glow a golden hue, followed by the sound of small zippers opening.

The look on Kidd's face was actually a baffled expression this time, like it held a sense of déjà vu, but she ignored it, watching the small red and green goblin demons crawl all round his arms and shoulders with sneering little smiles as they cackled away. Kidd's face then warped into something of disgust and he started to swat them away violently, and that meant he had to let go the chain on her back and she took that opportunity to flee from his presence, but she heard him say one thing before she was out of ear shot.

"_Killer._" He growled.

She knew what was coming, so she picked up her pace, but Killer was able to keep up with her easily. She tried to lose him multiple times by cutting corners and jumping over crates and carts in the alleyways, but he was quick to react by doing the sharp turn or jump as well.

She was getting irritated and flustered that she hadn't lost him yet, so she broke down and used her magic once more. The same golden glow started to radiate from her hands and the metallic color bounced off the narrow walls around them and a small rip torn through the air, revealing the glowing mix of colors in front of her. She jumped through it quickly, thinking she got away, but she didn't. She didn't except him to make it through, but he did since he landed on top of her, forcing her to the ground with him sitting on her back. And she let out another loud curse that only real devils could understand.

"_Master!_" A new voice rang out, but one more familiar to her, ironically enough. "_Don't use such foul language!_"

She sighed when she felt something, that something being her familiar, move under her robes, pushing and clawing at the fabric until she felt the small form push his way out, his tiny, scaly olive green head popping out into the open. He grunted while he tried to escape the pressure of two people on top of him, wiggling his body violently. Her familiar's hands then started to claw at the her cloak, trying to pull away from under all the weight, and with a finally huff, the winged goblin started to hover over them, stretching out his wings.

"What did she say?" Killer asked the goblin, mixed curiosity and amusement in his voice.

"You don't want to know." Her goblin familiar bluntly said. "And why are you sitting on Master's back?"

"Because she was running away." Killer answered slowly.

"That doesn't seem to be a good enough reason to sit on her." Her familiar stated in a mildly scolding way.

"That's because it isn't, Musket" she grunted, rubbing her forehead in slight irritation; Musket could be a real motor mouth at times to the wrong people, which was a bad thing most of the times

Killer easily ignored her since the _thumps_ of thick soled shoes came from behind them followed by the non-too-happy voice of a certain red head.

"What the _fuck_ are these?"

She fidgeted where she was pinned to the ground, feeling the vibrations as he got closer and closer, then she saw his black boots before her eyes and she looked up with a deep frown.

"What the fuck are these things?" Kidd repeated, scowling down at her as he waved his dagger in the air that had the small goblins shish-kabobed on it.

"You killed them…" Gabriella muttered sadly, looking at her dead minions with pity. The poor dears didn't have a chance, did they?

"What were they?" Kidd repeated for a third time, getting irritated that she wasn't answering his question.

"Minx demons." She answered simply, deciding that she was in no position to try and fight back since she was up against a wall, well a better term would be the ground since she was pinned to it by a pirate still, which brought her to asking: "Now mind getting off of me?"

"Going to run away again?" Kidd answered for his first mate.

"Depends on the situation." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll take that as a yes, so no." Kidd bluntly answered, flicking one of her small dead demon from his blade into the sea.

She frowned when his little red body _plunked_ into the sea, disappearing from the surface. Then she turned back towards the pirate captain looming over her form. "Fine I won't run away, let's just try and be a bit more civilized." She sighed, huffing lightly in annoyance as she cradled her chin in the palm of her hand; there was no way a pirate like_ him_ could be civil.

"You really must not know who I am." Kidd looked at her with an amused grin while he flicked the last demon from his blade into the shallow ocean waters under the docks.

"Nope, I believe that I don't," she lied.

"I'm Eustass Kidd. Ring any bells?"

"Not really," she answered dully, trying to keep her expression bored looking rather than amused because the man actually believed her. It was rather funny.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?" Kidd chuckled, shaking his head lightly. "You're a violent one, don't know me, and you're a mage to boot." He listed off, putting his dagger back in the strap across his chest then waved a hand.

Killer stood up from his relaxed sitting position on her back and stepped over to stand by the pirate captain, blocking the way down the docks just in case there was any funny business.

There was no funny busy on her end though, because she was in slight shock. "How do you know I'm a mage?" She questioned cautiously and slowly started to stand up.

"I had a run in with a mage a while back." Kidd said simply.

"A summoner like me?" She asked, starting to look at him curiously while rubbing the sores on her back.

"I don't know the type, nor do I care, but now I really want you to join my crew." He told her with a grin.

"What, so you can exploit my powers?" She said in a somewhat sarcastic tone and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Exactly."

"Well, aren't you blunt."

"I can be at times, so what do you say, though you don't have a choice other than the hard way or the easy way."

Gabriella placed her hand to her chin in deep thought, the gears in head turning slowly as she thought about it.

"What are you doing?" Kidd asked her as he watched her made a serious looking face.

"I'm thinking, duh." She answered snappily, ignoring the look Kidd was giving her and she went back to thinking before she was so rudely interrupted.

As a mage, a summoner mage, she could easily travel around the Grand Line, but there were always times when she was out numbered. She didn't like showing off her magic too much since the Marines are always after mages from her homeland, and she really didn't need the Council finding out she left the island... Though that was of different matters. She was trained well enough to defend herself from small groups of people without using her magic as a cop out, like the three morons she fought earlier that evening, but there would be times when the small group grew bigger and stronger...

Being on a crew would be helping her out, even if she had to stay in a rinky-dink ship all the time and also slow her pace down, but there were three other students looking for the gem as well. They didn't have...certain things slowing them down like she did, so maybe going on the ship would be beneficially to her; she would be able to stay on the down low, but then again she wouldn't. She knew who he was, she read the newspapers papers about him, but lying was something that seemed to be the right thing to do since it looked like this man lived off ego and reputation. Fueling either, and in this case both, was something she didn't want to deal with, but moving along.

She levied her options of going with him or not seemed difficult to decided, since she was in a position where she _had_ to join, but in the end the answer was clear. "Looks like its going to be the hard way," she couldn't let him get away with it _that_ easily.

Musket, who had been a good quiet minion as he hovered next to her, started to pull at the fabric on her shoulders in fright. He didn't like the idea of traveling with this man, and antagonizing him didn't seem to be a good idea either, but Gabriella ignored her familiar's silent protest and kept her gaze locked onto Kidd's scowling one. It was clear he wouldn't let her go, since running away didn't work the first time, so she was going to make it difficult for him at least, probably by running again. It would be funny to watch the pirate captain chase after, though it would most likely be Killer again.

Though her plan didn't go accordingly.

Kidd let out an annoyed sigh and grabbed her by the scruff of her robe, dragging her across the docks.

"_Hey!_ You're making this too easy!" She shouted, flaring her legs around and wiggled in his grip.

"Good to know that this was actually the easy way." Kidd grunted, and he continued to pull her along.

Gabriella grumbled darkly under her breath; maybe this was a bad decision on her part after all.

* * *

><p>Kidd cursed under his breath as he stalked back to his ship, pulling his hull of fidgeting mage with him as she continued to flare her legs wildly. It was really starting to annoy the shit out of him, but he was able to calm down a bit once he got back on the familiar blood stained deck of his ship. Ah, home sweet home. He arched his back, letting his spine crack, and he heard the mage grumble something about it, but he ignored it and turned to Killer who was following quietly behind them. "You know what to do." Kidd grinned at his first mate while yanking the mage to stand firmly on her feet beside him.<p>

Killer nodded silently and jumped over the railing of the ship, landing gracefully onto the dock below before darting off into town again.

Kidd watched as Killer dashed off with a sneering grin, but his joyous moment was interrupted.

"Your ship's deck looks disgusting." The mage commented, looking down at the stains, distaste twisting her shadowed features cast by the cowl pulled over her head.

"You'll get used to it." Kidd just shrugged his shoulders, indifferent in the matter and then he turned back to the island, but then a voice from behind entered his ears.

"Captain?"

Kidd turned towards the familiar voice and and saw his second mate walking up to stand beside him. "What?" He questioned, eyeing the pale skinned man covered with red thorny tattoos.

"Who's that?" His second mate asked, pointing a finger at the mage.

"It's rude to point." The mage said bluntly with a serious tone in her voice, and the winged goblin began to pull at the fabric on her shoulders with a look of panic.

"This is Roland." Kidd ignored the mage, pushing her forward for the crew to see, some looking at her dully, others with interest, both kinds of interest, mostly having to do with sex, and Kidd was going to make sure that didn't happen. He didn't need something like _that_ going _on_ his ship; him being the exception to his own rule.

"It's actually Gabriella." She corrected.

"Whatever." Kidd waved it aside and turned his attention to the view of the town once more. It was almost time. "Get ready to set sail." Kidd ordered his crew, but his gaze was locked on the island, like it was a ticking time bomb. The men around the deck started to pull on ropes, let down sails, and bring up the anchor, then the ship started to push through dark water as wind caught in the sails.

"Wait, what about Killer?" The mage questioned, going to the the railing and leaned over the side.

"He'll be back soon." Kidd said deviously, and as if on cue, his first mate came into view, jumping from the end of the dock and landed with the same grace on the ship's blood stained deck.

"It's done." Killer told him and held up a new log post that was pointing in a new direction. "We have fifteen minutes, by the way."

Kidd's face broke out into a sneering grin again, but not towards the log post, but towards the island. "_Prefect,_" he mused.

The mage blinked at him in confusion and squinted her eyes, straining to see what the hidden meaning to it all was as the island started to dim from view, the large rocks surrounding the island obscuring the image and blocking the light coming from the town. Then with a loud sudden **bang**, the island burst into flames that made the whole sky glow a brilliant orange and yellow hue. The explosion was larger then Kidd had expected, but it was an over all shock to the mage since she yelped when a large gush of heated wind blew passed the her, making the winged goblin dart away, hiding within her robes, but the harsh breeze also took her hood from her head. She let out a small squeak, her hands covering her ears, but the crew already saw, especially Kidd.

He looked at her ears with amused eyes since they were something he didn't see everyday: pointed ears. It wasn't just a small little point at the tip of her ears either, but a rather large one that made her ears look twice the size of normal ones. Though, the amusement in his eyes died quickly as his interest went away to nothing, and he just grunted at her embarrassment. He would let her get away with blushing like that today because she was new, but the next time he wouldn't allow it; girl or not, she was a member of his crew now. Pushing that aside, he turned to head towards his quarter's, but before he could go through the door he heard someone snicker:

"She has huge ears."

He chuckled dryly at the comment, but then there was a sharp_ smack_ behind him, and his interest went back up when he heard that dreadfully rough _thud_ of something hitting wood. He turned around he saw that the poor sap who had snickered the sly comment was now groaning at the base of the mass and the mage was seething rage from he small form as she stomped her foot to the deck angrily.

"_Don't make fun of my ears!_"

An amused grin started to spread across Kidd's lips. This was going to be interesting_._

* * *

><p>First off Ohdan is a word I made up from great, great, great grandfather. He will be an important part of the story and I felt that saying great, great, great grandfather over and over would be just...bad...so I made up a word (sorry if this is an actually word part of some other language, I mean no harm from it.)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Bear with me, will ya?

Nothing special too say here.

**Edited: I have something special to say now! This has been edited also just like chapter one and also like the next, what, eight chapters? Added a good 1000 words to this, and fixed all the point of view issues I was having...I read through this and wondered how I could even write like this all the way back in the Fall. I feel as if I have come a long way, maybe?**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but I do own OCs and plot.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Bear with me, will ya?<p>

Gabriella's first two weeks with the Kidd Pirates weren't pleasant ones. In fact it was hellish, and she knew what hell could be like since Calamity had a few..._field trips_ to the many realms that devils and demons live in and some trips turned out to be pretty gruelish. It was just like her time with the pirates that could be considered as worse as devils themselves.

The first terrible thing that happened was on her very first day, and that was when Kidd confiscated her spear. He thought it was 'hazardous' for some reason; it wasn't her fault the blade almost cut his head off. It was on her back, clearly easy to see unless someone was blind, but yet when he just barely dodged the metal's sharp edge, he ripped the weapon from her back, marched into the belly of the ship and threw it in his quarter's, never for her to see again until he saw fit. Now, she didn't have a weapon, well, she still had her heel dagger, but that couldn't take a man's head off with that, and she was ready to do that a few times to the men of the ship.

She was going to be blunt: the men were horny dogs, but she was able to put them in their places with a swift kick to the groin and a few choice curse words. She thought Kidd would get upset that she was totally beating up his crew, but the man found it entertaining to see his own crew curled up in fetal positions on the floor as they clutched their crotches to ease the pain. The man was twisted, that's for sure, though there were some 'normal' members of his just as twisted crew, normal enough to talk to without getting creeped out that is. That probably was the thing that kept her sanity.

The other thing that she could live without was the constant noise from the crew. It echoed and rang all day and night no matter where she was; she wondered how anyone got any sleep, _ever_. Even when the crew, was supposedly sleeping, their snores, grunts, and loud mumbles pierced through one wooden wall to the next. She tried burying her face into piles of pillows and layer after layer of thick blankets, but to no avail because the noise was only muffled a bit. It was never enough that she could fall sleep, that is until she passed out from lack of sleep only to be awoken by the sounds of the crew screaming in the morning two hours later.

There was only one thing she looked forward to now: coffee. She _lived_ off coffee. The bitter taste and sharp aroma of the pitch black liquid is what she needed after her sleepless nights, and somehow got her out of the glum mood in the morning and through the day. Though, she had to go to galley continually to get her addiction, which really didn't make the cook all to happy to see her at least ten times a day.

The other morning when she was in the galley drinking her elixir of life for the fourth time since she was rudely awoken by some bastard beating at her door, telling her to wake up: a.k.a, Killer; she overheard two crew members talking about the next island coming up. That made her heart skip a beat in excitement. She thought that the next island would brighten her mood since of course, as a woman, she should get her own room in the inn, equaling peace and quiet that she desperately needed for one good night of sleep, but the truth of the island's nature only dampened her mood ten-fold. As she stepped out from the small room Kidd had given her; which equaled a cramped storage closet with a bed and chest for something, but that could fit nothing; she felt a breeze hit her from the open door down the hall, and it was anything but warm, it was the brutal opposite.

"It's cold." She bluntly told Kidd as she walked over to him on the deck, rubbing her arms repeatedly with her hands for warmth; her robe wasn't that thick, it was rather thin actually since her home was humid almost all year round.

"Yeah, and?" He glanced over his thick, fur covered shoulder with a calm look, obviously not affected by the cold weather at his bare chest.

She wondered how the frost wasn't getting deep inside his pale skin and to his bones. Then again, he was cold and heartless, so it made sense to her in the end. So, she quickly answered him as she saw him give her an annoyed look that signaled she was about to lose his attention because of her silence and the distance look in her eyes as she thought. "I don't wanna go on the island." She declared, shuttering violently as a harsh breeze blew between them. "It's cold."

"Too bad, you're going." Kidd replied bluntly before losing interest in the conversation completely, turning back to examine the snow covered island.

She glared at the back of his flaming red head a long moment with narrow eyes before she spoke again. "You are like a devil." She stated over the winds of winter.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kidd answered in an unreadable voice without turning around to look at her.

Gabriella decided to elaborate on what she really meant by what he took as the so called 'compliment'. "As a summoner, I don't take orders from devils since they take orders from me."

Kidd then stopped, turning back to face her slowly and a scowled formed on his pale face. He did not look pleased with the statement she just said, but despite that, she continued on.

"This is going to become a problem, so to avoid it, I say I stay on the ship so you don't have to deal with it." She_ 'compromised'_ with him and turned on the tip of her heel to walk away back to her room so she could bury herself under piles of blankets for warmth. "So it will all work out in the end," she reassured, waving a hand over her shoulder.

Kidd saw through her little _'compromise'_ though and grabbed the chain that hung loosely on her back before she could get out of his reach. Then he pulled her up so he was looking her dead in the eyes. "That's getting your way, and as the Captain, I say you're going on the island. That's an order," he countered dryly, glaring at her darkly.

Gabriella huffed. "But that's not fair!" She returned the glare, flaring her legs and tried to reach the ground, but to no prevail since it was impossible; she was a good six inches from the blood stained, wooden beams below her. It's just one of those things people do in hopes of getting to the ground that was almost touchable. "I might get sick or something!"

"Life isn't fair." He bluntly said.

"But you can make it by compromising." She pointed out, halting the wild flaring of her legs.

The look on Kidd's face told her that he did not like tone that she used. "As a pirate, I don't compromise. I do what I want," he informed her coldly.

"_Ceh._" She scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "So you want to see your own crew suffer? What a brute."

Kidd scoffed in return, but ended the conversation with silence and put her feet back onto the deck, but didn't let go of the chain on her back, making her stumbled a bit when he started to drag her across the deck to the gangplank then across the docks until they were at the edge of a pathway that led to the small town further in the snow and ice covered woods. "See, that wasn't so hard." Kidd finally spoke, grinning at her mockingly when he let go of the chain and she tripped at the sudden weight of her body being rushed back to her feet.

She started to sway, and bumped into his chest, feeling the vibrations as he chuckled deeply, and she pushed away quickly. "No, it wasn't." She said, slowly regaining her balance. "But since I came onto the island, I can go back now." She told her as she dusted off bits of snow that were on her shoulders and hood.

Kidd's grin melted into a frown. "No, you can't."

"But you said I had to go on the island." She reminded him. "I did, so now you have to let me go back to the ship."

Kidd glared at her reasoning. "That sounds like you're trying to make me compromise, and didn't I tell you I don't do that."

"_Yup!_" She chirped out happily with a smile.

Kidd's look warped to rage, whether it was because of her mockingly cheery attitude or because she was talking back to him, she didn't know, but he shoved a hand in her face, making her blink at it in confusion at the outstretched palm within inched of her nose, then her eyes opened wide when he said: "_Repel._"

* * *

><p>The mage went flying backwards through the snowy sky after he forced her away with his devil fruit powers. He smirked as he heard the tiny yelp flutter passed her lips fade away in the distance as she went continued to sail away through the air. Maybe she would hit a tree, the brutal impact would really teach her something about not testing him, but to Kidd's dissatisfaction he saw the golden light that reflected off the white flurries, making him scowl at his failed plan to punish the mage for disrespecting him as the Captain. But then...that scowl turned into a somewhat surprised, and interested, look as he saw a giant creature roll out of a portal she created. Its large scaly body twisted around her in a tight ball like a shield before it hit the ground like a meteor, making snow splash away like ocean spray.<p>

"Interesting…" he mumbled out with a small grin and he started to head in the direction the mage and her summoned creature that fell to the earth with Killer right behind him.

* * *

><p>Gabriella fidgeted inside the demons's hold, giving the warm body a hint that she wanted to be let out of the cramped space, and the demon responded, slowly uncurling its body. The demon's muscles rubbed against her as it unrolled from its protective, shield mode, and she was able to slide from its belly when it was lying flat on its back. Her feet made the slightest crunch as they met the snow below, but then the snow was tossed a bout wildly as the demon continued to roll around to move from lying on its back and onto its thick, stubby legs. And once on its legs again, it acted just like a dog would after a long bath and shook its body violently to rid its scaly skin of the icy white powder.<p>

She let out a small giggle at the large demon's behavior, smiling when she dusted more snow from her shoulders and hood that had been rained on her from the sudden snow bath. "Thank you." She said, turning her attention back to the demon and patted it on the nose lovingly.

The demon just shuttered from the warm contact on its frozen scales and a series of uncomfortable grunts and growls came from its throat in response.

Gabriella looked at the large shaking form in front of her with a confused look, but then her eyes opened wide with concern. "I can't believe I forgot! You're cold blooded!" She exclaimed in slight horror as she looked the demon in the eyes with worry. "Don't worry, I'll make it better," she said gently with a smile and started to stroke its nose again with sympathy.

With one last pat, Gabriella clenched a fist, gold coming to it quickly and then she swiped her hand across the air, reopening the portal so that the colorful rip zippered through the atmosphere. "There. You can go home now." She said, patting its head one last time before the demon rolled back up into a ball, starting to tumble quickly through the vortex and back to the warmth of its home. Gabriella smiled after the portal closed, knowing now that the demon was safe from the cold, but her mood was killed by the local kill joy when she heard heavy boots crush the snow behind her.

"What was that?" Kidd asked with a look of interest as he walked up to her with Killer at his side.

Her brow rose, curious on why he even cared, but she answered him anyway. "A Callon." She replied easily; she really didn't want to soar into the snow again because she was being difficult.

But still, Kidd's interested expression twisted into something that looked annoyed. "I think you need to explain more clearly on what that is."

"It's a demon." She added in, though she would have added that little _duh_ at the end, but she held her tongue.

"More than three words," Kidd bit out through clenched teeth.

"Okay, fine." she sighed out and rolled her eyes, making Kidd's face twist into irritation. "It's a demon that is sorta like a hybrid of an armadillo and dragon. There, happy?"

Kidd was silent for a second and just stared at her and she just stared back. He must have been waiting for more, but she obviously was leaving it at that blunt explanation because that is pretty much what a Callon was, so he just continued to question her. "Where does it come from?" He asked.

"Oh, it comes from—" she stopped when something caught her eye and she looked around Kidd's large maroon fur coat.

Her absent staring and silence to his question was starting to annoy him, she could tell by his body movements, but her mind was completely focused on what was in the background playing in the snow at the treeline. She felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her violently and his harsh voice was lost, going in one ear and out the other, and that is when she lost it. She let out a long screamed, something that a child would do when she saw something cute, which she did: it was so unbelievably _adorable_. The hand on her shoulder tightened as Kidd flinched at the sudden burst that rang in his eardrums, but she didn't care. Gabriella started to smile a childish grin and she was ready to make a break for the trees, but a hand latched onto the chain across her back before she got too far.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Kidd pulled her back then lifted her from the ground so she could see the deadly scowl warping his face.

She ignored the look though, moving her head so she could find a place to look passed the pirate captain's muscular form, and when she found that spot, she smiled brightly. "It's a_ bear!_" She gushed girlishly, pointing over his shoulder. She had always loved bears because her hero from home was represented by the bear, so the two just seemed to fit in her logic.

Kidd blinked at her blankly, watching her fidgeted wildly like a child in his grasp. Then he slowly turned, looking over his shoulder behind him and there he saw in the treeline were three small white cubs. His brows furrowed together, and Gabriella saw that look from before; it was his déjà vu look and she could only image what was going through the red head's mind. Then he turned his focus to her, his brows shifting to make his face show the expression of confusion. "Yeah, and?"

"I _love_ bears!" She proclaimed, placing her hands together lovingly. She kinda felt bad for acting like this, but there were bears...how could she not act like this? "They're so _cute~!_" She continued to squeal in delight, then she started to thrash around even more in his grip. _ Now let me go you stupid brute_, would have been what she said next, but the bears were on her mind at the moment.

Kidd just slowly blinked at her with a straight face. "Didn't think you were the type of girl to like that kind of stuff."

Her girlish moment broke and she went limp, looking up at him with a face just as straight as his. "I said I _like_ bears because they are_ cute_, **not** _cute_ things _like_ bears. Get your facts straight, gosh."

Kidd scowled at the attitude she used, and she could see the muscles of his arm tensing with rage.

She ignored that and went on to ask him: "Can I please go see the bear?" She even said _please_, though he was still a pirate so her chances were slim, but she _did_ ask nicely. That _has_ to count for something.

He looked at her slightly disgusted and asked in return: "Are you going to skin it for its fur, then sell it to get something useful for the crew?"

The look of horror on her face told him no.

"Then no, you can't." He answered her original question and then started to drag her towards the path to town.

"_Let me go!_" She demanded roughly, thrashing her feet in the snow and tried to dig her feels in the iced over ground to cause some sort of friction. "I want to go see the polar bears!"

That déjà vu moment seemed to hit Kidd again, making him pause at the impact, hell even she felt it: polar bears and pirates rang a bell in her mind from somewhere, maybe a newspaper article. She couldn't put her finger on it, but then Kidd's next word made her furious."You're not allowed to like bears anymore." He ordered then continued to tug her violently along the snowy path.

"_What?_ That's _stupid!_ You can't tell me what I can and can't like." She protested, twisting around to scowl up at him with annoyance. "And stop pulling me!" She added on, getting irritated with him dragging her like an object, and she tried to kick him in the back of the leg, but failed since he jerked her body around and all she ended up kicking was a pile of fresh snow.

"Shut up and do as I say," he ordered again.

"You can't do that!" She fumed with an angry glare. "I don't tell you to stop wearing those _ugly_ goggles just because I don't like them!"

Kidd's response to that was chucking her successfully into a snow bank.

She yelped, feeling the snow soak her instantly, and it got worse with the fact that some had fallen down on her head from a tree above, caving her in. She squeaked as the icy feeling pierced through her skin, and the situation got even worse when she heard Kidd bark with laughter in the background. She started to curse as she dug her way through the heavy, wet, and extremely cold snow cage she was jammed in until she was at the surface of the pile again then and she pulled herself through. She let out an irritated groan as she started to shutter in the harsh winds that bit at her now wet body with frost.

"Brute…" she mumbled softly to herself as she started to brush more snow from her clothes, but Kidd just so happen to be walking by at the time she had said it.

The grin on his face twisted to a frown when she said that. "Get over it." He grunted as he went by, followed by Killer, who was silent the whole time.

She blinked at the masked man, was he there the _whole_ time? She shook her head, that didn't matter. "Still isn't fair." She grumbled through chattering teeth as she hugged her body for warmth; she hated to be cold and wet, _especially_ at the same time.

"Know what, life isn't fair like. I told you that, so suck up your pride and deal with it," he ordered, glaring over his shoulder at her shivering form. "Now, come on. We're heading to the bar." He informed, ignoring her chattering teeth and continued to walk.

"Why? It's still broad daylight, and don't you still have _captain_ things to do like getting supplies." She pointed out as she trailed after.

"That's why I have a crew." Kidd bluntly said.

"So you just sit back and let your minions do your dirty work?"

"Grunt work." He corrected. "Dirty work implies killing, and that I can do myself."

"Of course you can, you totally killed everyone at the last island." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes to the heavens.

"Killer is the only exception." He shrugged simply.

"Do I get any exceptions because I'm a girl?" She asked curiously. There had to be _some_ exceptions for her since she was the only woman on board. Maybe she would get out of doing 'grunt' work with the rest of the crew.

"No."

That just shot down her chances. "Well, now I know chivalry is truly dead." She said dryly through her chattering teeth.

"And I know you really need to learn when to shut up or else that tongue of your's is going to come out." Kidd glanced over his shoulder to shoot her a glare of annoyance.

"I'd like to see you try." She glared back, just pushing all the wrong buttons on purpose.

Kidd stopped in his tracks and spun around to face her with narrow eyes, and she could see an irritated vein bulge from his forehead. "Do you really want to test me?"

She was silent. The look on his face told her he wasn't kidding, and she did like her tongue where it was in her mouth.

"Good." He said smoothly when she didn't answer his question. "Now, let's go." He ordered, spinning back around on his heel and continued to lead the way back up to town.

From that point it was a silent journey up the path except from the sound of boots crunching the snow from underneath the heavy soles. Soon the loud crunching turned to a light tap because the snow was already packed close to the ground as they entered the town. Gabriella looked around the small square filled with Kidd Pirates and the town's people mingled quietly around them, doing their everyday business like normal while avoiding the deadly sea men so not to spark a nerve to have their home destroyed. The smell of burning firewood filled the air and lingered with the smell of fresh baked breads that escaped when ever a door opened. Along side the smell of food, was the smell of coffee, which was something that Gabriella was starting to carve as Kidd walked over to a large wooden building.

"Get inside; you don't want to get sick." He said, holding the door open for her.

She eyed him in amusement at the gesture. "So you _do_ care." She teased with a playful smirk, and that only earned her a harsh scowl from the tall red head.

"I don't want to deal with a sick, bitchy woman on my ship, that's why." He corrected with a small growl in his voice.

She returned the glare, he ruined her fun with such a rude comment, making her scoff and turn her head away from him as she continued to walk into the dimly lit room. She made a bee line for the fire place, her mind screaming the word _warmth_ repeatedly in her ears and along the way, she quickly grabbed up a wool blanket with different colored squares stitched across it. Her numb fingers felt the thick wool and enjoyed the sensation, but she resisted the urge to snuggle against it, and she continued to the fireplace. Sitting down in a lump on the carpet in front of the fireplace, she wrapped the blanket around her until only her red tinted face was showing. The fireplace gave off a warm presence that melted away the chill clinging to her skin that went deep into her bones as she sat curled up in a ball under the blanket in front of the flames. She let out a soft sigh in comfort as heat that was taken from her body started to return. It was relaxing, but of course, it couldn't last.

She heard Kidd sink down in the chair behind her and he stretched on his legs, and then she felt his boot hit her back. She grunted at the unwelcomed weight as he crossed his ankles over one another and used her back as a foot stool. "Do you mind?" She turned her head sharply around so she could see him from over her shoulder and past the blanket blocking her view.

"No." He grunted, a look of annoyance craved onto his pale features as he relaxed into the cushions of his seat.

She scoffed and turned her head back to the fire, grumbling under her breath about his bruteism, if that was even a word. She wanted to scoot away from the sharp pain of his heels digging into her back, but she stayed put. Why? She had no idea, maybe her body was too busy warming up to focus on moving away from the pain.

"Um can I get something for you…?" She heard someone ask timidly from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see who it was.

It was a serving girl looking down warily at Kidd as she shifted nervously back and forth on her heels, ready to dart away like a rabbit from a fox. She looked like she did not what to be there, but judging by the man in the background who was looking over nervously, told Gabriella that the girl was forced to come over. Maybe to get brownie points for having good service? Fat chance, the girl wouldn't even look Kidd in the eyes.

"Strongest thing you got." He answered.

She nodded furiously, scribbling on her note pad then her gaze turned to Killer who had taken seat in another chair in front of the fire . "And you?" he questioned quietly.

He just waved the question aside with a hand, like he was dismissing the idea.

Then the girl looked down at her, and Gabriella noted that she was looking her in the eyes unlike the two pirate supernova. "You, ma'am?"

Gabriella scrunched her nose at the term _ma'am_; it made her feel old. There was no reason to add years to her age that didn't belong. She pushed the thought aside though and simply said: "Pitch black coffee," she couldn't remember the last time she had coffee; two, three hours ago? She didn't know, but she sure as hell needed it now.

The serving girl wrote it down quickly, mumbling a small _okay_ and then left with a hot step in her skip back towards the safety of the bar and kitchen were the man was sighing in relief that the girl didn't get killed on the spot. The sentimental scene in the background lost her interest and she looked back at the fires flickering flames, but then Kidd shifted his feet on her back, trying to grab her attention.

"Didn't think you liked your coffee like that." He commented.

"It's all you have on your ship." She scoffed, ending it with that and not even bothering to turn her head to look back at him.

She heard him scoff, and he probably rolled his eyes too, but then he took his attention away from her as he began talking to his first mate. "Killer."

Killer didn't make a verbal response, but she figured he must have done something because Kidd continued.

"What should we do to this island? The last one was a bit rushed because of her." Kidd started to say, pushing his feet forward to direction the 'blame' of rushed and messy violence on the last island.

"I'm right here, you know." Gabriella scowled, turning around, yet again, to glare at him darkly.

Kidd easily ignored her and focused his attention on his first mate.

"I'm guessing you want to do something more violent then blowing up the place." Killer answered.

"Slow painful death of _everything_ would be very entertaining." Kidd grinned at his first mate largely.

The stressed word hit her like a brick. "Wait. What?" She turned around sharply, making Kidd's feet fall to the floor in a heap next to her. "_Everything?_"

"Yes, everything." Kidd repeated, glaring slightly at her because she moved to make his feet shift dramatically to the ground.

"Even…the bears?" She looked up at him with worried eyes for the little bears on the island that she loved. She couldn't let him hurt her bears, they were too cute to hurt.

"You don't have to worry about the bears." Kidd said smoothly with a grin.

Gabriella turned back to the fireplace with a small sigh of relief, actually thinking that what he was saying was the truth and she even ignored the fact that Kidd propped his feet on her back again, but she didn't see the look Kidd was giving his first mate that said:

_You don't have to worry about killing them, because I will._

* * *

><p>So I'm thinking I might make this into a romance, but still have Kidd in character. Though I'm not sure if it will work. Like the old saying 'you'll never know if you don't try', so I'm going to try, and you can be the judge of if it's good or bad.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Tall things suck

So here's chapter three.

**Edited: Going through all these chapters is taking more time than I thought... Though what can I expect. I didn't put my best effort into this months ago, so I have to weed through until I get something that I find up to par with my writing skills now. Wow, got 3000 more words into this chapter; I feel so proud...though my 'c' button wasn't working right and that really effected things. Stupid 'c' button.**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but I do own OCs and plot.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Tall things suck.<p>

The waves were the only sound echoing throughout the Kidd Pirate's ship in the early morning; not a single loud snort or snore ever rang through the beams and rafters at night. Not even a stomp was heard through the walls or over head as morning crept closer to noon. _That_ was a very peaceful sound to Gabriella: nothing. For once, after two _very_ long weeks, she finally got some peace and quiet because she made the smart decision to sleep on the ship rather than at the bar.

Kidd said he was going to spend the extra beli so she would get her own room, though he grumbled about the idea of 'wasting' money. At first, she was ecstatic, also jumping up and down because she thought she would get some _real_ sleep for once, but that didn't work out at all. As the night went on, she noticed something dire: the structure of the bar was the same as the ship. There wasn't enough insulation to stop sound from traveling through the walls to her eardrums and it got worse once she saw the Kidd Pirates get hyped up on liquor. It just would not do, so she told Kidd he didn't need to pay for an extra room because she would sleep on the ship. He was okay with it, he even smirked when she told him that, and she found his expression to be _very_ offensive, and she was going to get back at him for it.

By sleeping in, of course.

Gabriella stretched out her limbs comfortably, shifting her arms and legs around as they moved under all the blankets. She yawned widely, slowly opening her eyes to push the covers off and then she rolled lazily out of bed. She shuttered slightly when her bare feet hit the cool wooden floor boards and she quickly put on her boots, wiggling her toes and then she scooped up her robe, slipping it on. Musket then shuffled his way out of the blankets, popping out with a yawn as he sleepily flew over to her and then she placed him in the magic space within the fabric of her robe. With her familiar safely in place, she went to the bathroom and did her basic morning routine: brushing her teeth, applying a small amount of makeup, and then finally did her hair, which was then covered after she pulled her hood over head to hide her pointed ears.

She frowned in the mirror at the thought of her ears, but she pushed it aside with a shake of her head and she left the bathroom, making her way up to the deck. The sun was high in the sky, signaling that it was way passed noon, closer to two. She smirked at the thought; Kidd had told her to get back at the bar by eight so Killer could give her 'assignments' for the morning, a.k.a: her list of grunt work tasks. She missed his deadline by six hours and she knew he would to be pissed, but she didn't worry about it and just made her way down the gangplank and headed to the bar.

She slowly walked along the fresh, powdery path that led to the small town, feeling quite refreshed after the nice sleep in, but her body was truly starting to crave her addiction: coffee. She was planning on taking her time getting back to the bar, but her need for caffeine was driving her mind crazy, so what was a slow stroll turned into a light jog until she was at the bar. She got to the door feeling out of breath; she was more tired than she thought, even with all the extra sleep, and she quickly opened the door, being greeted by the sweet smell of coffee...and also the dark scowl of Kidd.

He was sitting across the room, facing the door like he was waiting for her to come in. His eyes were narrowed sharply, the shadows of the dim room making his expression look even darker than usual as he ushered her over silently with his finger.

For once she was a bit scared to talk to him, but it was just because of how his body was being portrayed in the low lighting. So, she was able to push it aside as she walked over to the table he was sitting at with Killer by his side, the masked blonde lounging in his seat with his arms folded over his chest.

"Where the hell were you?" He questioned coldly, glaring at her when she stopped before him.

"I was sleeping," she stated, shrugging her shoulders; it wasn't a lie at least, but her mind was more focused on what was on the table: a coffee pot with a mug sitting beside it temptingly on the surface.

"You know it's two in the afternoon, right?" Kidd continued, but his voice seemed to be fading in her ears.

Her eyes were locked onto the pot with boiling hot, brown liquid, and she swore it started to create a white fuzzy glow around it as something started to sing in the background, but then Kidd barking something brought her back to reality and she answered his questioned, though it wasn't really an answer to anything. "You know I only had two hours of sleep in the past two weeks, right?" She mocked, rolling her eyes as she sat down at the table.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your tongue?" He snapped, his scowl growing harsher by the minute.

"Sorry, but it's a force of habit," she reminded him simply, reaching across the table to snatch up the mug and then she carefully picked up the pot to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"A habit you better fix or else I will." He threatened coldly.

"Ah, yes." She droned, finding the threat to be an empty one, just like empty mug, and she poured the coffee into it, feeling a small smile tug on the corner of her lips. "So before _you_ try and fix it, I'll be on my way and out of your hair." She said to please him, but she glanced at the look on his face and it said that her tone just pissed him off even more. So, to avoid his wrath, she stood up from her seat with mug in hand to leave the table, like she said before: she liked her tongue where it was.

Kidd wasn't finished with her yet though, he made that clear by grabbing the chain on the back of her robe and pulled her back towards him. "_Now_ where do you think you're going?"

She fumbled with the cup in her hands, some of the boiling drink spilling onto the skin of her hand. She hissed at the burning pain, dropping the mug instantly to make it shatter to the floor and the liquid splashed up. Was this krama for being snappy with Kidd, a deadly pirate? If it was then it was really screwed up, but she waited for fate's punishment, but it wasn't the coffee she felt, rather Kidd jerking her back more so she just avoided the boiling droplets. She watched the coffee slowly pool out the ground, and then she looked over at Kidd, slightly shocked that he..._helped_ her, believe it or not.

He just scoffed at the look on her face, rolling his eyes and then continued to speak. "Answer my question: where the fuck do you think you're going?

She still felt stunned by this actions, they seemed out of character for someone like him, but maybe it had to do with the fact that he was the captain and she was a member of his crew, meaning it was his job to look after her. It made her feel weak that she had someone defending her, though saving her boiling hot coffee made her feel better...even though it pinned her as clumsy, but it was his fault anyway. The sound of Kidd growling snapped her away from her train of thought, and she looked up to see his expression twisting into annoyed rage because he wasn't answered yet. "I have to look for something," she replied simply.

Kidd's irritated expression softened to a curious one. "And what would that be?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Nothing big," she shrugged. "Just something for Calamity."

"And who is _that?_"

"You act like you _actually_ care who it is."

He was silent for a moment and just stared at her. "_Tsk,_" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Just get out of here," he ordered, letting go of the chain on her back and then pushed her away from his presence.

Gabriella stumbled over her feet and then shot him a glare over her shoulder, but he had already gone back to nursing his beer, ignoring her completely. She huffed at his attitude, turning her head away from him and marched back towards the door.

As the door creaked open, but slammed violently with closure, Kidd turned to Killer.

"Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Kidd told his first mate, his eyes glancing in the direction of the door. "The log post will be set in a few hours, and I don't want her here when the..._show_ begins." He added on with a small grin.

Killer just nodded his masked head and left the bar to follow the summoner mage.

* * *

><p>The frosty winds of midday were much stronger on the mountain's rocky edges than on the ground thanks to the high altitudes. Loud gusts of wind blew passed Gabriella as she steadied herself of the mountain's narrow paths to the highest peak to look for the gem. She needed to get to the highest point so she could use the enchanted crystal that was given to her three years ago by her teacher before she and her peers started their long journey through the Grand Line to find the missing gem. Though, she vaguely pondered why the Council sent the gem to the Grand Line and not somewhere else, maybe because it was difficult to travel, even with the outposts scattered around it. She really didn't know the answer, and she may have been curious for one, but she pushed it aside to continue up the mountain.<p>

The snow was heavy, barely reaching up to her knees and completely soaking her to the bone; her robe wasn't thick nor was it waterproof. It made her shiver, her teeth chattering as she tried to work her way through the thick snow. It was such a burden to her movement that she could barely move and she also almost lost her balance. In the split second, her upper body started to tumble head first into a pile of snow, but her hand lashed out and grabbed onto a firm piece of rock right above her head before anything sloppy happened.

"Tall things suck." She mumbled grumpily as she fixed her stance into a more stable one, and as she ran her hands down the front of her robe, it shifted, making the chains jingle more violently in the wind so the fabric opened, revealing Musket's tiny head.

The small winged goblin blinked, looking around him cautiously at the dangerous looking weather, but he saw that it wasn't that bad; the poor dear had be in worse before, so he came out fully in the open, stretching his legs and arms out wide so his wings shuttered. "It's not that bad, Master." He told her, his beady black eyes scanning the mountain's airy scenery. "It's actually quite pretty up here."

She ignored the innocent compliment to the world around her and scoffed. "Easy for you to say since you can actually fly." She grunted, responding to his first statement, pulling her leg out of the heavy snow encasing it, one after the other as she started to march through the snow.

"You could summon something though." The winged goblin pointed out.

"I'd rather not use my magic unless I really need to." She answered, sighing lightly. "You know that," she added, trudging through the ice towards the mountain's side to check the sturdiness of the rocks. Maybe she could climb...

"But did you really need to use it yesterday when Captain Kidd threw you?" Musket asked her innocently.

She ignored him for a moment to check if the mountain was a suitable climbing rock wall, but she grumbled at the loose rocks in her hand as soon as she grabbed it. "Yes, because I didn't know where I would land." She answered, tossing the rock over the edge of the snowy cliff carelessly.

"You would have landed in the snow."

"…" She was silent as she looked at the frozen rocks in front of her. "…Yeah." She said slowly, checking on another rock to see if it was firm enough to handle her body weight.

"And isn't snow soft?" Her familiar continued to question in an innocent child-like voice.

"It's also wet." Gabriella pointed out, turning towards him to send him a gentle glare. "I don't want to be wet in negative degrees, Musket."

"_Oh~!_" Musket awed, his eyes going wide. "That _does_ makes sense."

"Good." She grunted irritably when another rock crumbled from the mountain's side as soon as her hand touched it. "Now that we have that cleared up, go up and scout for me." She ordered, throwing the rock away again, making it soar over the edge and then she pointed up towards the snow-capped peek.

"Why?" Musket questioned, tilting his scaly head to the side.

"Because I want to get to the top of the mountain as soon as possible so I can get down it as soon as possible." She answered bluntly

"_Oh~!_" The winged goblin awed once more, his eyes growing as he nodded his small head up and down. "Okay then, Master," and Musket flew up the rocky side to scout out the stones for a safe path.

Gabriella watched on the small cliff, looking up as her familiar checked rock after rock, and she also watched as the loose ones fell passed her, either plopping in the snow like pebbles hitting water's surface or zooming down over the mountain's cliff's edge, never to be seen again. She was starting to get impatient with standing there, cold and wet and she was sure she was going to get frostbite soon if Musket didn't hurry up. She couldn't tell what process he made because the winged goblin disappeared from sight, and she was left there alone on the cliff.

At least she thought she was alone, but then she heard the crunching of snow being packed behind her. She turned and glanced over the edge of the cliff and saw the familiar light blue and white mask with long blonde hair blowing in the wind. "What are _you_ doing here?" She questioned Killer as he jumped up from the cliff below easily and stood beside her.

Killer shook his shoulder of snow and simply said: "Kidd."

"What?" She inquired, eyeing him curiously with a confused eyebrow raised. "He told you to come _baby-sit_ me?"

"Not those exact words, but that's the basic idea," He sighed sharply through the holes of his mask, clearly not happy with the situation.

"What does he think I'll do? Cause an avalanche?" She mused, a smirk tugging on the corner of her lips. "I think he would happy about that because I'd be causing chaos under his name."

"Maybe," Killer replied, shrugging his shoulders, but then he continued to explain his opinion on the subject. "But he wouldn't want to be _in_ it. It's all about timing."

She looked at him oddly. "I'm getting the feeling you're encouraging me to _actually_ try it," she implied, crossing her arms over her chest and continued to look at him curiously.

"In the future." Killer confirmed with another small shrug. "But not now, Kidd has things he needs to take care of."

"Yeah?" She scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Like what?"

"I don't have to tell you, now do I." Killer droned, getting bored with the conversation quickly, just like his captain does.

"_Ceh._" She scoffed again, rolling her eyes and then turned her gaze away from the masked blonde, looking out at the sea below, her gaze traveling out as far as they could until she met the horizon line in the background. Musket was right, it _was_ pretty up here. And speaking of her familiar, she looked back up when she heard the sound of leather flapping together over the wind blowing around passed her ears, and she saw that Musket was coming back into view.

"_Come this way, Master!_" He called, waving tiny arms wildly to get her attention.

Gabriella flinched at the high pitched voice, and the thought of an avalanche came rolling back into her mind, but nothing happened so she replied back. "Coming!" She yelled, but in a softer tone compared to her familiar; Musket may have dodged a bullet, but that didn't mean she would if she tried.

Musket flew back down to her side, showing the path her found, but he hesitated slightly when he saw Killer, but Gabriella waved a hand, telling him to continued. Musket did so, guiding her along the icy rock wall so she knew where to placed her feet and hands on the mountain's side. But then she heard a second pair of hands and feet below her and she glanced over her shoulder to see Killer following close behind, though she simply ignored the masked blonde and continued up the scouted path to the top of the mountain's snowy peak. By the time she felt her fingers would fall off because they were brittle with a cold chill, she reached her goal by getting to the top.

"Is this a good enough place, Master?" Musket asked, grabbing the back of her cloak to help pull her over the edge.

"Yeah, its good." Gabriella nodded, looking out at the clouds blotching out the sea encircling the island.

"Good for what?" Killer questioned, jumping easily from the mountain's edge to the firm ground of the peak.

"To look for the gem." She answered simply, digging through the pockets of her robe.

"What gem?"

"Calamity's gem, _duh_. I said it at the bar." She rolled her eyes and turned away from her pockets and to him. "Weren't you listening?"

"…"

Gabriella ignored his silence and went back to searching in her pockets and pulled out a clear white crystal hanging from a single thread of black cord.

"What does that do?" Killer spoke up again and from his body expression it looked like he was curious about the crystal in her hand.

"It helps me find the gem." She replied, shrugging as she held the crystal out, letting it swing in the winter breeze. "But I have to be at the highest point on the island to use it."

"What if the place is flat?" He stepped closer to her and examined the crystal more.

"Then I need to go to the middle of it." She answered.

"And if it's big?" He asked, reaching out his hands and let his fingers brush against the crystal's smooth surface.

Gabriella ripped the crystal away from his grasp, glaring slightly at the pirate eyeing the object for its worth. "Don't touch, and one: too many questions. Two: how many 'big' islands are in the Grand Line."

"Good point." He replaced his hand at his side again and nodded his head in agreement. "But theoretically speaking."

"Then I go to my last resort: use magic." She moved the crystal back out in front of her and let it swing with the wind.

"Magic is your last resort?" Killer asked her curiously, tilting his masked head to the side.

"It was the way I was taught." Gabriella lied, though it was actually half true since she taught herself to use magic as a last resort.

"Then why did you use is yesterday like that?" He pressed on, hinting that he actually saw the small fib in her voice, unlike a certain red head. "There was snow everywhere for a soft landing."

"She didn't want to get wet." Musket chimed in innocently.

"Musket," Gabriella said dryly, turning away from the crystal and towards her familiar that was hovering to her side.

"Yes?" He blinked his eyes in confusion.

"Shut up," she snapped, glaring at him lightly.

"I'm sorry, Master…" Musket whimpered, hanging his head low.

She sighed, patting her familiar's head quickly, ending the conversation with that and then she turned back to the crystal. Calamity told her that the crystal was supposed to glow a bright white when it picked up on the location of the gem, then the intensity of the glow would heighten when the exact location was picked up. So far, after three long years of searching, she still hadn't found anything. but she still waited for that day where the crystal would glow and she could go home. She wanted that more than ever now because of a certain something, that something being forced to join a pirate crew. Though, she did agree in the end, but still, she considered it being forced to agree.

She pushed the thoughts aside though, focusing back on the crystal. The wind started to pick up speed, brushing passed her violently, but she forced her eyes to stay open, locking onto the chord as it swung back and froth wildly, making it spin slightly in a circle. After a few long, and chilling, minutes the crystal came to a stop, the only thing moving it was the breeze: there was no sign of the gem of the frosty island. "Well, that bites." Gabriella said with a frown, watching as the chord stood still.

"So, you're done now?" Killer asked, stepping up beside her, the snow crunching under his feet. He looked over her shoulder, glancing down curiously at the crystal again.

She nodded grimly, placing the crystal back in her pocket, but before she could even do that, Musket snatched it up from her hands then darted into her robes. She blinked at the odd reaction of her familiar, maybe he was doing just in case Killer had sticky fingers or something. She didn't know, but she could always ask later if she needed to. "Yeah," she answered the masked blonde, sighing lightly. "Seems like I—"

**BANG!**

The sound of an explosion cut off her sentence, ending her train of thought as she looked towards the direction of the fiery blast in the distance. Sounded like Kidd exploded, and she wondered dryly about what the poor town had done to piss him off and what building suffered the consequences, but when she turned her gaze from the smoke billowing into the sky and towards the village below, she gasped in horror. It wasn't just one building, but rather that _whole_ town. It was engulfed in the middle of blazing, orange flames, flickering brightly to cause the snow around it to melt, and she could actually see the yellowish-green grass poking out, only to be turned black with ash. But that wasn't what upset her, no, the town in flames was _not_ it, it was because the fire was spreading trees around it, and all the wildfire that lived within.

Like her polar bears.

"_Oh no!_" She cried, her eyes opening wide at the scene. Her mind produced horrid pictures of the death of her sweet little bears that almost forced tears to her eyes, but then it snapped to rage. Kidd was to blame for this; he _lied_ to her. She felt the strict control over her magic withering away, breaking the bonds and she clenched her fists, gold burning brightly at her sides and she scowled down at the inferno below. Then she jumped over the edge of the peak and landed on another cliff below, bending her knees as she made contact and then she swiped her hand across the atmosphere, making the zippering sound of the portal opening echo through the air.

"I thought you only used magic as a last restore?" Killer called down from his perch above her, a small hint of amusement laced in his voice.

She looked up at him, glaring darkly, the shadow from her hood making her narrow golden eyes look even more menacing, not that Killer looked affected by the sharp stare anyway. "This _is_ important!" She yelled back at him, and then turned to her portal, ushering out her new demon, one that was more suited for the cold weather.

The demon was large with heavy muscles that were covered with thick white fur, making him blend in with the snowy background easily except for the grey skin of his face along with the pads of his feet and palms of his hands. The demon tilted his head at her curiously, but then grunted when she began to climb up onto his back, gripping tightly to his long fur.

She didn't say anything, but point in the direction she wanted him to go, the order clearly implied and the demon grunted again, understanding his job and leaped over the mountain's edge. Jumping from one cliff to the next, he landed with grace despite all the rocky surface covered by snow. The monster's heavily patted feet crushed the snow easily to the ground, the sharp rocks not even affecting the pads of his feet, and in no time at all, he had gotten her from the peak to the mountain's base.

She could admit that the time cut more than just in half thanks to her magic, but she just couldn't use it willy-nilly; it caused problems for her that she liked to avoid if she could. She pushed the troubling thoughts aside and focused on sending her summoned demon back to his home. Once he stepped back into the glowing, multi-colored portal, she dashed to the burning area of buildings and trees, not even giving a second glance to see if he made it in alright. She heard the demon's feet crush the snow, but then the sound stopped and then there was the zippering sound, giving her small comfort that he entered the portal safely. But she didn't stop to see if the portal closed properly and she continued to rush into the inferno that Kidd created, looking for the red head.

Luckily, it was easy for her to find him since he was in the middle of the blazing mess laughing like a maniac with a large arm made of scrap metal. He stood there with his chin held high, a broad, devilish grin on his lips that reached ear to ear as his foot rested upon a pile of wide eyed corpses of men, weapons of swords and guns hanging loosely in lifeless hands. The last reminder of them trying to defend their home, but the last thing they saw before death was a red headed devil shoot them in the heart. Kidd's laughing simmered down to chuckling as he replaced his revolver back in its proper place, the tone of his voice so low that she could even the evil within it, the _pure_ evil.

That made her rage boil even more inside her gut, and she started to race towards him, screaming at him so she could be heard over the crackling flames and cries of death as the crew mercilessly slaughtered the villagers like pigs. "_What are you doing!_"

Kidd laughed at the look on her face, like he found her blistering red cheeks of fury to be a humorous thing. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he mused mockingly.

"But _why?_" She yelled, her voice rising in pitch as she skidded to a stop in front of him, snow splashing away and landing onto Kidd's boots.

He ignored the red tinted snow covering his shoes, and he spread out his arms wide, the one covered with scrap metal of all kinds and weapons ramming into a wall of a building near by, causing the structure to crumble and break under the intense force. "_Because I can, of course!_" He declared to the heavens like it was his god-given right to destroy and kill all in his path, the devil's grin widening even more on his lips, if that was even possible.

"What did these people every do to you!" She lashed out, furious attitude sharp on her tongue as her hand motioned to the people running around frantically, trying in a failed attempt to avoid death by their murderers. She may have not really cared about the people like her bears, but they were still just as innocent...

"Nothing but being a bit too calm and quiet for my taste." He jeered, a devious glint gleaming in his eyes, the flames making dark shadows warp his face into something inhuman, and that was something his personality matched completely.

"That's so stupid!" She shouted, stomping her foot to the ground and she glared up at him. "And do you even know that the fire is spreading to the wild life around the town!"

That was when his mood shifted into something mischievous, a mood that she did not like seeing, especially the look in his eyes. "Of course I know." He responded smoothly, his smile growing when he saw her look slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. "I _did_ make the plan to have the island burst into flames and all."

Her eyes opened wide with shock at his words, but she should have known better, which made her eyes narrow into two dangerously sharp slit. "But you said I didn't have to worry!" She snapped, stomping her foot in the snow again while placing her hands on her hips; she felt so childish for acting this way.

Kidd didn't seem to mind it though, he seemed to be enjoying her reactions to hearing his plans. "I did, but I never said I wouldn't do it still," he chuckled deeply, leaning forward to pat her cheek mockingly.

She swatted his hand away, slapping it roughly, but the force didn't seem to affect him at all. "_You lied!_" She shrieked; a captain wasn't supposed to lie to their crew, even if that certain member was new and really didn't want to be there.

Kidd barked in laughter, looming over her smaller form compared to his taller, more muscular one. "I'm a pirate, of course I lied." He stated coolly. "But for once, I technically didn't lie to you since you _didn't_ have to worry about killing anything." He pointed out smugly. "I and the rest of the crew did it all."

"I wasn't talking about just anything!" She pointed out in return, feeling so much hate towards him that she wanted to dash away to one of the many realms of hell to get away from him, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't get far, so she held her ground. "I was talking about the _bears._"

"More the reason to turn this island into ash." He smirked, chuckling deeply.

She opened her mouth to snap back a nasty retort, one that would just wipe that stupid, jack-ass of a smirk right off his face, but someone yelled in the background, something about '_fire in the hole_'. She was confused by the statement but then her eyes opened wide at what the universal call meant: a bomb.

**Boom!**

The ground shook, heated wind rushing into her back like a hand shoving her forward, forward into Kidd's trembling chest as he laughed. She felt embarrassment twisting her gut as she pushed away from him, turning her head away from the cackling red head so he wouldn't see the look on her face: mortification. She seemed to be having a problem with bumping into his chest of late since this wasn't the first time, and she felt like it wasn't going to be the last...plus it was going to get worse. She shuttered at the thought, but then she felt something grab onto the chain of her back, jerking her into motion so she was walking and she looked up, seeing Kidd walking and talking to a tall man covered in blood colored thorn tattoos and Killer.

She just let him drag her; she lost all her adrenaline from her worries plus she didn't have a single drop of coffee in over 24 hours. She felt like a zombie, she was surprised she even made it through the day without passing out. She didn't dwell over it though, feeling her eyes lids growing heavy, and she seriously thought that she was going to faint from exhaustion, but another jerk from Kidd pulling her onto the deck snapped her from losing it, especially when he shouted to his crew to get ready to leave port.

Kidd finally let go of her and then walked away, like her presence was gone from his mind as he stalked over to the wheel of his ship to speak with his first mate and navigator. Gabriella really didn't care; the more he ignored her the better since she was planning on leaving as soon as Calamity's gem was found. Though...for some reason she found herself looking over in his direction, eyeing his tall form as his took the pegs of the wheel in hand.

He had a glow to him, and it wasn't a pretty one since it had a deadly radiance to it, which in truth made her scowl rather than turn away from the intimidating look twisting his sharp features. Tall things _really_ did suck, whether they be a giant mountain or a murderous pirate captain; _tall things sucked_.


	4. Chapter 4: Bedros

Here's chapter four, and I hope you like it!

**Edit: Just taking my first week of Summer to edit each chapter. Hmm... it would take me all Summer to like edit both _His Heir_ and _Bones_, though I have nothing better to do. My little home in the middle of a valley is a one trick pony, nothing good is around me. If there is something than it's over three hours or more away. Sucks doesn't it? Though, I hope that people are liking the editing I'm doing, I think you can tell the difference when you read chapters 1-4 and then get to five and be like '_what...' _So any-who, only a couple more days and then I'll be done. Close to 2000 more words to this chapter...though...I really don't like how I planned it out originally not that I look at it, but I'll work with what I got.**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but I do own OCs and plot.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Bedros.<p>

_Bang, clack, clunk_.

That was the ringing sound of Gabriella's alarm clock in the mornings on the Kidd Pirate's ship, and sadly it wasn't a tone that could be changed with a click of a button like a real clock. It was so damn annoying, though she could admit she was getting used to the sound; still a terrible sound to wake up to every morning, but she was getting used to it. Except when new sounds decided to pop into the mix, like the pounding coming from her door at that moment.

Groaning loudly, she rolled lazily out from under her covers and gently placed her feet on the scratchy wooden boards that sent shivers up her spine. She sat there on the edge of her bed for a moment, arching her back lightly to stretch out all the kinks and sores she got during her night's rest, but then there was another pounding knock on her door. "Hold your horses!" She snapped, standing up straight, but then she shuttered as the cold hi her bare skin. The knocking continued, and with another groan, she shuffled over to the door. Another sharp knock was amplified as she stood in front of the door, and she flinched at the irritating sound, slowly opening the door with a glare. "What is it Killer?" She grumbled, glaring up that the masked blonde towering over her.

"We're docked." He simply said before turning quickly on the heel of his boot and headed to the deck.

Gabriella sighed at the implied order, but she still needed to get ready for the day. So, Kidd had better have put that in his plan of getting her out of bed early. She went to get her things from the small chest at the foot of her bed where she put all the items she was able to purchase at the last island they were docked out.

It was a simple little sailor's town, it didn't have much, but enough so she could get all the things she would need. Though, Kidd gave her a limited amount of money on what she could buy, so she just bought the basics that every girl can't live without. It was nothing big luckily, or else the little chest in her room wouldn't have been able to hold anything at, but her short list was. A new brush since her old one's bristles were starting to fall away bit by bit, then she got more makeup; a small pencil of eyeliner, a bit of mascara, nothing big since makeup was _so_ expensive now a days, and then she got more toothpaste since she was running out and really didn't want to use the crews'... But hey at least it was implied that they brushed their teeth. And lastly she got deodorant; that was about everything since that's all she could buy with the beli Kidd gave her, but at least he gave her something rather than nothing.

So, gathering what she needed in her arms, she shuffled down the hall to the bathroom with Musket following behind her sleepily flapping his wings as he carried her robe. Then she went through her morning procedures, ending with pulling on her robe, stuffing her familiar inside and then putting her hood up to over her ears. She grimaced at the thought of her ears, but she shook it off and headed out onto deck since that is where the masked blonde disappeared to.

The first thing Gabriella noticed when she walked through the doorway was the color brown; a dusty, light brown. The island was a flat, rock surface, looking like it went on and on in the distance horizon, but the hazy view was blocked by the simple old western style town clustered by the tiny docks. It seemed this town didn't get too many visitors; she heard rumors from the crew that giant worms live in the very stone of the island and they come up to eat the ships that dock at their home. It was a petty rumor, actually it was a joke since they were purposely _trying_ to scare her, and they ultimately failed, by the way. Why would worms eat the ships and not the home since the town was actually _on_ the land unlike the ships; the story had too many flaws to make it believable.

It just proved her point on the matter since the town seemed lively with activity; people milling about, walking around homes and shops built up from old wooden boards that had rusted metal and nails holding it all together. In truth it looked like a danger hazard to live or even be in one of those buildings. But that clearly didn't stop the people living there as they carried on with their normal day-to-day lives, strolling passed the dangerous buildings surrounded by cacti of all different shapes and sizes with blooming pink, red, and yellow flowers atop their horny heads.

"_Don't_ complain about the weather." The voiced order drew her attention away from the dusty town to the tall red head walking up beside her, and she looked over to see that he was glaring down at her form, just waiting for her to say something.

"The weather seems fine." She shrugged her shoulders; she was used to warmer weather as long as it wasn't completely out of control, of course. Then she would complain, but as of now, she didn't, there was always that chance so she warned him: "Well, for now anyway."

"Whether it's now or later, _don't_ complain," Kidd grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't want to fucking hear you whining for once today."

"But I haven't whined or complained all day." She pointed out, her brow rising in confusion.

"No, but you're talking back and that isn't any better." Kidd snapped, removing his hand that was blocking his eyes so she could see them narrowing at her sharply.

"I wasn't talking back, just pointing something out." She said, shrugging lightly.

"No, you're talking back," he corrected irritably. "Now _stop_." Kidd demanded, his glare sharpening into a scowl as he continued to talk to her, but then he suddenly turned away from her, making the back of his coat flutter with the sharp spin.

Gabriella stood there for a second unsure of what to do since he didn't give her a chance to retort back, though...they both knew it was probably going to be a nasty reply, just to piss him off, so she just decided on jogging lightly to catch up to him as he stalked off the gangplank to the deck.

Kidd glanced over his shoulder as he heard the taps of her boots hitting the dock behind him, but ignored her and turned back to heading towards town. The dock creaked under the pressure from their boots walking side by side, but then something happened to make her falter. When her heel touched the dusty rock of the island, she didn't feel the solidness of rock, but she felt a lightening zap of magic run up her leg and through her spine. Her eyes opened wide from the feeling and he lashed out her hand, grabbing a hold of Kidd's furry sleeve.

Kidd halted from his stride and turned to greet her with a scowl on his face. "_What?_"

"Can I have some money?" She asked, tugging on his sleeve more in a childish fashion.

Kidd's scowl hardened and he ripped his sleeve from her grip roughly. "_Why?_"

"Because I want a drink." She answered simply.

"Can't that wait." He groaned, rubbing the side of his cheek.

"But I'm thirsty." She whined softly, putting her finger tips to her neck gently to emphasize her point.

Kidd rolled his eyes and with a hand, he pushed back the thick fur of his coat so he could reach into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a few bills. "Here. It's all you get, and _don't_ get fucking coffee."

It's true, Kidd took coffee away from her because she was addicted to it _bad_. He even had Killer watch her constantly to make sure she didn't, and the masked blonde wasn't pleased when he had to deal with her. First she was bitchy then she was a zombie and then she passed out, and this all happened for two weeks straight until she could function properly without having a million cups of coffee to keep herself awake, which she was actually happy about now; it ended a lot of trips to the bathroom.

"Thank you!" She chirped, smiling greedily at the money and grabbed up the bills from the pirate captain's fingers then bounded off into the simple one street down crowded with people.

Her feet guided her along, the magical pull getting stronger and stronger; it was strange, like whomever was using it knew she was there, but that was a question she could ask when she found out who it was. Then she stopped, and she looked up seeing that it was a saloon her feet halted in front of and she could heard the sound of men laughing and drinking as they listened to music inside. She slipped passed the swinging wooden doors of the bar, and as soon as she entered, the old style piano stopped abruptly as she stood there eyeing all the patrons.

They were all staring at her with curious, and somewhat irritated, stares from under cowboy hats and over pints of ale that were stopped midway before coming to their lips, but she ignored those stares and traveled over to the bar and slapped the bills in her hand on the wooden surface. The bartender stopped cleaning a clear glass cup with small dust specks on the outer edge and grabbed another clean cup from under the bar then poured a thick red liquid in the cup then slid it to her across the wooden surface.

Gabriella curled her fingers around the cup, feeling some of the cold liquid touch the skin of her hand as it splashed over the edge, and then she brought it to her lips gently, taking a small sip, feeling the burn of alcohol run down her throat. She ignored the sting, keeping her expression calm as she looked over the rim of the glass cup at all the tanned-skinned glares being directed at her. Then her metallic colored eyes fell over a lone figure in the corner of the room that snapped his fingers gently.

The same electric feeling came over her after the small tap of his fingers together, and she glared, her eyes meeting with the shadowed ones under the brim on the man's hat in the corner. She started to move forward, her heels clicking against the wooden flooring as she walked around tables and chairs to where he was. As she got closer there, she saw that the man had a relaxed, yet smug, aura swimming around him as he lounged in the chair, his feet propped up onto the table so his black leather boots sprinkled dust onto the table top.

He swished his drink back and forth in the small glass between his tanned fingers, but his full focus was on her, even though his black velvet cowboy hat shielded his eyes from view. Then he lifted the glass to his lips, taking a long swing of it and then he took the cup away with a long breath and he slammed the cup onto the table, making the glass shatter under the pressure and then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Was wonderin' what it was I felt." He smirked slyly. "Good thing I sent ya an..._invite_ to come over, eh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, grabbing the back of the chair and pulled it out so she could sit. "Probably all that beer you're drinking." She bluntly told him, placing her cup of the grimy table top.

"Now, I know good beer can give you a pretty nice buzz." The man chuckled, relaxing further into his seat and crossed his arms over his leather vested chest. "I think it's a bit of..._summoner'_s magic, don't ya think?" He asked, smirking devilishly as he put a single finger to tip his hat upwards, showing off his red eyes.

"I was thinking the same thing." Gabriella agreed, smiling mockingly sweet. "But I think I felt something different from _regular_ summoner's magic."

"You think so?" He inquired, his brow rising curiously, an amused tone laced in his voice.

"So, what's your name?" She asked casually, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her seat.

"Don't you think you should introduce yourself first?" He questioned with confused interest.

"I asked you first." She clarified. "So, _you_ should introduce yourself," she told him, leaning forward and propped her elbows on the tabled and laced her fingers together to rest her chin on. "What's your name?" she repeated the question, eyeing him curiously.

The man sighed with a loud wind of air, making his shoulders rise and fall dramatically. "It's Bedros."

Gabriella nodded slowly as a small smile spread across her lips. "Fitting considering what you are."

"I'm a '_what_' now?" He sent her a questioning look. "Look at me," he ordered, using his hands to motion to himself. "I think the word _who_ is better, hmm?"

"Maybe if you were human." She responded dryly, staring at him blankly.

"So, I _look_ human," He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "And besides, I could consider you a '_what_' too, since you're not like me." He informed smugly, shooting her a teasing smirk.

Gabriella glared slightly. "This isn't what is important right now." She told him simply.

"I know." Bedros agreed, putting his hands behind his head as smug smirk appeared on his lips. "I'm guessing your mission for Calamity is."

"How did you know about that?" She questioned harshly, her eyes narrowing more sharply.

He removed his hands from behind his head and held them out wide. "Considering '_what_' I am, I think I should know what it is you're lookin' for, right?"

"Okay, let's just drop that." Gabriella snapped, glaring at him for continually bringing up the topic of '_what_'; they needed to talk business. "Now tell me: how long have you been here?" She questioned sharply.

Bedros shrugged his shoulders and answered: "Awhile."

"I need more then a simple _awhile_." She bit out, feeling her teeth grind together with annoyance.

"Okay, _okay!_" He chuckled, putting his hands up in defense. "About two months." He told her truthfully, and she could tell because there was no stress in his voice.

"So, you've been throughout this whole island." She commented smoothly, placing a finger on the edge of her cup and ran it along it, making it go in a circle.

"Now, now." He tsked, waving a single finger back and forth at the implied question under the comment and shook his head in a scolding way. "I think me telling you is cheating."

Gabriella stopped running her finger around the edge of the glass and crossed her arms over her chest again, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry if I don't want to waste time when I can just ask you."

"Well, to answer your question. Yes, I have been around the whole island." He responded, crossing his arms over his chest again and smirked. "Not that big, but still a journey into the desert.

"That's not the question," she said dryly.

"I know." He mused, his smirk widening and starting to show off his pointed teeth.

"If you know the _real_ question, then tell me the _real_ answer." She snapped, glaring sharply at his amused resistance to answer a simple yes or no question.

"It's just too easy if I tell you, now isn't it?" He chuckled, shaking his head lightly with a small smile.

"So it _is_ here," she assumed.

A humorous smile came to his lips and he laughed. "I never said that."

Gabriella tapped her finger tips against the wooden table's surface. "By the way you're acting, I think it _is_."

Bedros's laughter died down to a low chuckle and he looked at her with amused eyes as he took his feet off the table and leaned forward. "Now there is only one way to know that, isn't there?"

"Yeah," she agreed, looking towards him with a serious glare. "By _you_ telling _me._"

"I'm not tellin' you." He corrected, leaning back again and started to cackle, shaking his head. "Go out in the middle of the desert and find out if it's here." He pointed towards the door with a smug smirk.

"I think not." She kept her serious face, her eyes locked onto his.

"_Oh?_" The humorous look turned curious and he leaned forward. "So you're gonna force it out of me, hmm?" He asked in a low tone.

She leaned forward and said just as lowly. "Exactly."

Gabriella stood up abruptly from her seat, letting the legs of the chair scratch across the flooring and then she turned sharply on her heel towards the rest of the patrons of the bar. They had gone back to their normal mood, talking and laughing among each other as they drank, but then she caused something that stopped them all when she started walking across the room over to a patron that was nearby and stared him down.

The man under tried to ignore her, but he started to fidget uncomfortably in his seat as he brought his cup to his lips. Her gaze was starting to get annoying, she could tell by the vein of irritation popping on his forehead. Then he slammed his cup down on the table, snapping his head to look up at her with a hard glare, telling her to _scram or else_. She wasn't affected by the look and said nothing, but held out a hand, and he must have thought she meant '_give me your money_', which made him scoff, but then she pointed to his holster. The man blinked in confusion, but then his face twisted to rage and he stood up from his seat slowly, gradually starting to tower over her smaller form. Her face didn't falter at the taller man and she quickly brought a swift punch to his gut, and grabbed the gun from his belt.

The man withered to the floor, and his buddies scrambled out of their seats, not because of her, but because of who walked in: Killer.

She ignored the masked blonde and turned around to face Bedros again, waving the gun towards the door.

Bedros looked at her with an amused smirk dancing on his lips and he pushed away from the table, following her passed Killer, who was watching them closely, and out the swinging doors into the dusty street.

Locals saw them exit the bar, seeing the guns in hand and swinging from belts, knowing exactly what was going to happen. The locals picked up children and long skirts, heading quickly to the closest building until only the Kidd Pirates that were mingling around, doing their assigned grunt work tasks, and the two magic users were left in the street. The dust fluttered between her and Bedros as they stood face to face in the street a short distance away from each other. Their stances in the ready position for a fight: knees slightly bent, either fingers twitching as hands hovered over the guns at belts or fingers clutched tightly to the handle in a calm palm. Their eyes were focused on one another, and the Kidd Pirates were focused on them, giving the two either curious looks with raised eyebrows or a small annoyed roll of the eyes, shaking their heads.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Bedros asked with an amused smirk. "You can avoid this all by just going out on your own."

"I'm pretty sure I wanna do this." Gabriella replied, her grip tightening on the revolver, though she was a bit worried; she had never used a gun before so she wouldn't know what would happen, at least she knew _how_ to use one.

"Considering all the damage you've done, I guess so." Bedros chuckled, his grin widening mischievously.

"I didn't cause _that_ much damage." She scoffed, rolling her eyes and her grip loosen on the revolver slightly to let it swing between her fingers.

"You caused lots of damage to some stranger's gut." He corrected in a sly tone and smirk.

Gabriella glared at him and her grip turned deadly on the revolver again. "Let's just get this over with so you can tell me what you know."

"Confident now, eh?" Bedros mused, raising a curious eyebrow as his hand reached for on of the pistols resting in his belt.

Gabriella saw his actions and swiftly held up the revolver, finding the cocking mechanism, and Bedros did the same, pulling out his pistol in a flash, faster than she had expected. He mirrored her exactly: arms outstretched with guns pointing at each others' hearts, like a real western duel. There was no drawn out dramatic pause though, like something that you would see in a cheesy wild west film, but they both started to put pressure on the triggers, but neither was fast enough as the third party that had entered the shoot-out as he stormed out a doorway angrily, his rage vivid to all in sight.

**Bang!**

Bedros clutched his chest where his heart was, crying out in agony as he crumbled to the ground.

Gabriella froze as she saw him shuttering on the ground in pain, but she stiffened even more at the voice that followed.

"_Five minutes_." Kidd snapped, scowling at her angrily with his revolver outstretched, pointing it towards Bedros and smoke clouding the image of his pale, muscular form. "Five minutes I let you go off on your own and you get in trouble," then his gaze shifted. "And I told you to make sure she _didn't,_" he barked at Killer.

The masked blonde was leaning against the wall of the saloon, arms crossed over his chest, and he simply shrugged in response.

Kidd growled at Killer, but then his full fury was directed at her.

Gabriella shifted uncomfortably, slowly moving the hand holding the revolver at her side as she pondered over what to say to the clearly fuming red headed captain. "I caused chaos. You like chaos," she said quickly.

"I like the chaos _I_ create." He corrected shortly. "Also," he added on when he saw her open her mouth to say something in return. "_You_ don't go causing chaos. That's _my_ job, and _you_ don't follow suit until _I _order _you_." He explained slowly, waving his weapon at her, causing the smoke to drift away from his form smoothly.

"But I didn't cause violent chaos." She pointed out, trying to defend her case.

"You were about to kill someone, that's violent." Kidd huffed, rolling his eyes as he replaced his revolver back in the strap across his chest.

"It wouldn't have killed him, though," she told him, dropping the revolver in her own hand, accidentally making it go off, the bullet zooming out and going through a window like butter, and then the cry of a man's death followed.

Kidd paused, staring at the window blankly, but then he shook his head and snapped his attention back on her. "Excuse me?" He bit out, whether he was angry with the whole situation or that she killed someone without his permission, she didn't know, but he continued speaking. "When you point a gun at someone's heart and shoot, it's going to kill him."

"Maybe a normal human," she agreed, "But _he_," she stressed the word, pointing to Bedros lying on the dusty road as he clutched the fabric covering his heart. "Isn't human. So he isn't dead, whether _I_ kill him or _you_."

"What the hell?" Kidd's vivid rage turned to silent anger, and she could have sworn that he seemed a bit curious on the subject, but that changed when he stormed over to Bedros, giving him a violent kick in the side.

Bedros grunted loudly in pain from the impact of Kidd's hard boot bruising his side and the lingering feeling brought a chorus of agony based groans from his lips as his hands traveled to his side and away from his chest. "That's gonna leave a mark in the mornin'." He moaned, clutching his side and rolled over onto his other side to lessen pressure from the bruising.

"How the fuck is he alive?" Kidd snapped, whipping his attention back to her with a fiery scowl.

"He's a devil." She answered simply.

"I think just being a devil doesn't make someone immortal." Kidd countered with a sneer.

"You're right," she answered again.

That simple phrase soured Kidd's mood ten-fold and his eyes narrowed darkly at her. "_Then why isn't he dead,_" he growled.

"Because he's a _stone_ devil." She explained, walking over to Bedros and knelt down next to him, rolling him over onto his back again to show Kidd the hard, rocky surface covering the stone devil's chest. "See," she pointed, poking the stony surface. "He can make a stone skin for protection. Really fits his name doesn't it, since Bedros literally means stone." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"I really don't care what the fuck his name is or means." Kidd bluntly said.

"You're right, it's not important." Gabriella agreed with Kidd, and judging by the look on his face, it surprised him a little that she did. "But what is, is that I won." Gabriella said smugly, grinning victoriously down at Bedros.

The pained look on Bedros's faced turned into a weak entertained one as an amused smile crossed his lips and a series of chuckles escaped. "_Won?_ How did _you_ win?"

"I don't think you're in any position to be acting dumb here." Gabriella glared at him and grabbed the scruff of his shirt, pulling his head away from the ground and closer to her. "Now tell me everything."

"I don't have to tell you anything." Bedros laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

"I think you do!" Her voice started to rise in pitch as he refused to answer, her glare hardening.

"But you _didn't_ win." Bedros continued to laugh, jerking his head towards Kidd. "_He_ did since he's the one that shot me. So do you want me to tell you somethin'?" He asked Kidd with an amused tone in his voice. "I'll answer it to the best of my ability, eh?"

Kidd tilted his head to the side, his lips going into the a thin line of thought as he crossed his arms over his chest, but then his lips twisted into a devious grin. "Anything?" he asked the stone devil slowly.

"Anything." Bedros grinned in return.

"How do I kill you?" Kidd bluntly asked, glaring with deadly narrow eyes.

"Now…" Bedros mumbled, glancing up at Kidd with a slightly nervous look in his eyes. "I die like everyone else does, but it's harder to kill me with the stone reflexes," he explained.

"_Hmph_," Kidd grunted, looking completely disinterested in the whole subject.

"Since that's over with, I can go now." Bedros declared, slowly starting to get up, but he struggled, and the pain caused him to flop back down against the pressure of Gabriella holding him up by the scruff of his shirt. "_By Mortalitas's Dark Hand_," he grumbled, shuttering lightly. "Wasn't ready for that shot," He sighed dramatically, leaning his head back. "I haven't had a shot like that in years."

Kidd grinned because of the statement, he may not have killed Bedros, but at least he wounded the stone devil in a way he hadn't felt in years.

Gabriella, on the other hand, didn't like the situation at all. She wanted Bedros to tell her if the gem was there or not; was it really that hard for him to answer something as simple as that? It was probably just in his blood to be as stubborn as an ass, but now her only actually chance went down the drain because of Kidd: stupid red head. She couldn't get mad at him though since he was her '_captain_', but that didn't mean she couldn't take her anger out on the stone devil still.

She threw down the bundle of shirt balled up in her trembling fist, making Bedros's head hit the ground hard.

He let out another groan of pain as she stood up from her kneeling position next to him and she grabbed the stone devil by the boot, starting to drag him towards the docks. The devil's eyes opened from the sudden movement, the sudden jerk causing his hat to slide off of his head. "Hey!_ Hey!_" he cried, his hands reaching out from behind him to snatch his hat back.

"Where do you think you're going _now_?" Kidd questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

Gabriella stopped in her tracks and turned back towards the pirate captain with a black stare. "I want my answer."

"And how do you think you'll get it?" Kidd asked, looking at her directly this time with a brow raised in curiosity.

"Rocks sink in water." She simply said, turning back to head towards the docks.

Kidd instantly got what she meant and grinned at the slow reaction of the stone devil.

Then Bedros's confused eyes turned wide with shock. "_What!_"

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><p>I looked Bedros up online and it's Greek for Stone. When I was looking for names I liked this one because it gave Bedros a cool power you know? But I guess now he has the same weakness as every devil fruit user: he sinks in water. Oh well.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Adding a Pebble to the Pond

Next chapter is here, and hope you like it.

**Edited: This was a tricky chapter to edit. In my earlier writing, I used a lot of dialogue to move plots on, but I have moved away from that to the point where I have people sometimes only say one or two sentences per chapter but still have something that is over 2000 or 3000 words, so this chapter was a lot of condensing down. Plus I needed to fix my point of views; they switch around a lot, and I know this is third person and I can get away with it, but only at certain times(in my opinion): like when I really need to without a line break or in a fight scene, you know? Also changed up the ending of this chapter, seemed rather...confusing, this new ending makes more sense.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own OCs and plot.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Adding a Pebble to the Pond.<p>

The sun was blistering, its rays beating down mercilessly from high above in the sky on the poor souls that dwell below, like the sweltering summoner mage standing along in the burning heat. Gabriella shielded her eyes, placing a hand just above her brow so that she could stared out at the seemingly endless island of flat desert rock. It went on for miles and mile, nothing but reddish-brown stone for what seemed to be forever until her mind created a clear, haze from heat in the far distance horizon. She took in the terrain, but the heat was affecting her so much that she couldn't focus on it. She was used to humid weather, not dry scorching ones.

She shook her head lightly, feeling locks of her ginger hair sticking to the skin of her neck and cheeks and that made her frown. She pushed the strands of hair away, but then decided it would be better to put it up. So, she pulled down her hood for a moment and then tied up her hair in a messy bun with a band around her wrist. Then she shifted her hood back over her head once her hair was under control, and then she placed her hands on her hip, letting a small sigh flutter passed her dry lips. "This is never going to work on foot." She shook her head with a cynical sigh, licking her lips lightly to regain moisture so they wouldn't crack.

Then she felt the fabric of her robe moving, and out popped her familiar's head. "Why do you say that, Master?" Musket inquired, slipping out from the protection of her robe, but when the sun touched his skin, heating the scales instantly, he retreated quickly back inside her robe. "Now I see why," he dryly said, peeking out from the flaps of fabric to watch smoke filter up from the dust.

"I know." She sighed again, her shoulders rising and falling dramatically. "That's why I had to find a plan B."

Musket looked up at her. "What are you going to do?" He asked, his head popping out again so he could look at her for a brief moment in curiosity.

"You'll see when we get there, and we better start heading there now." She told him with a smile, twisting on the heel of her boot so she was facing the other direction away from the endless desert. "I told Killer to meet me at the stables with Bedros." She explained, walking back towards the town's outer edge where barns of supplies and livestock were located.

"_Oh~!_" Musket awed at the keyword: the stone devil's name, and he shuffled his body back into the safety of her robes as she walked towards the stables.

Hooves pounded like a storm on the ground, making her ears ring with the thundering as she got closer to the stables holding horses for the town. She over heard some locals talking about other towns in different areas and how they used horses to travel the dusty beaches, though they never talked about going into the desert, which she figured was because of the heat. That she was a living witness to it; the heat could be deadly on this island if it wanted to.

So she hurried along, jogging lightly over to a fenced in ring that held a large black mustang running wildly around the circle that caused light brown powder to float passed the wooden boards, making it look like a mini-sandstorm. Once at the fence, she jumped up, her hands clinging to the top boards and her feet slipping onto the lower beams of the fence, and she watched the horse gallop with soot filled grace until the trainer calmed it down by roughly pulling the reins.

She could admit that horses were beautiful beasts, but they weren't all too cute, like her bears. Bears were so _adorable~._

"Can you tell the blondie here to let me go now, eh? He's gettin' me dirty..." A harassed sounding voice piped up, almost whining with the horse's loud whinny, ripping her thoughts away from bears.

Gabriella turned her gaze from the neighing horse and looked over her shoulder to see Killer stalking up from behind, but then her eyes traveled down to the stone devil, who had his wrists bound and was being dragged along the dusty ground by the scruff of his black leather vest. She couldn't help but smirk at the discomfort on the stone devil's features; it almost looked like he was pouting. "I technically can't tell Killer what to do." She told the stone devil, jumping down from the fence and walked over to the pair. "He _is_ my superior and all."

Killer turned his head towards her, though he had a mask on, she could tell he looked surprised by the comment, and she was too. That was probably the first time with the Kidd Pirates that she saw someone above her without being rude towards them about it. She had a feeling Kidd wouldn't be pleased if he heard that since he probably wanted to have the respect first.

"Then ask nicely, will ya?" Bedros spat, his brows furrowing together in anger, glaring at her with narrow red eyes.

"Why don't you?" She humored, a wide smile growing on her lips.

"Because I think he won't after all that I've said…" Bedros mumbled under his breath, but she could still hear him, thanks to her large ears.

Gabriella frowned at the thought, and she slid her hand passed the fabric of her hood to gently let her fingers brush against the shell of her ear.

"_Hey._" Bedros growled, bringing her back to reality, and she actually mentally thanked him for that. "Can you get him to let go?" The stone devil repeated, his teeth clenched tightly together as he spoke and then he began wiggling in the masked blonde's grip.

Gabriella removed her hand from her ear and crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a small sigh then looked at Killer. "Please?" She asked the masked blonde with a weak smile.

Killer didn't do anything for a moment and just gazed blankly in her direction, but then his fingers uncurled from Bedros's vest and the stone devil flopped to the ground with a _thud_. Now it was her turn to be surprised that he listened to her, maybe it was because she was finally acknowledging her place as a member within the crew and that he was in charge of her.

"_Lovely._" Bedros grumbled, lying flat on his back in distaste and then slowly started to get up, but struggled with it thanks to his bond wrists. "Now if you could be so kind and cut the rope..." He trailed off, holding out his wrists and wiggled his fingers.

"If I did that you would try to escape." She told him bluntly, glaring mildly. "Like last night."

"If I _promise_ not to leave, will ya?" Bedros asked in an innocent voice.

"You're a devil," was all she said with a straight face.

"And?" He inquired, raising a confused eyebrow as a curious smile spread across his lips.

"Devil's lie or make loop holes _all_ the time." Gabriella elaborated, rolling her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.

"I promise: I won't do anything." Bedros gave her his best reassuring smile in his most innocent voice.

Gabriella just stared, blinking her eyes slowly with a blank expression. "No."

Bedros pouted from his spot on the ground and his bond wrists fell to the dirt, causing dust to pool up lightly.

Gabriella ignored his watery, puppy-dog eyes and turned on the heel of her boot so that her focus was back on the horse. The mustang was currently trotting happily as the trainer held a firm grip on the long reins as he guided the horse around the fenced in ring. She quickly walked over, skipping back onto the fence's supports, using her full upper body weight to balance herself against the wood and she called out to the trainer, interrupting him exercising his horse. "_Hey!_ Hey you!" she shouted, waving a hand in his direction.

The trainer jumped a small inch off the ground, looking startled from behind, obviously he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. He whipped his head around, blinking at her with large eyes. "Yes?" he questioned, his nerves going down as an eyebrow started to rise from under the brim of his tan colored cowboy hat.

"Come over here." She told him, ushering him over with a quickly fan of her hand. "I have something to ask you."

The trainer eyed her skeptically, but walked over anyway, pulling the reins of the horse with him. "What?" he asked when he stopped before the fence she was standing on.

"Can I borrow that horse?" She asked, cutting straight to the chase and pointed a finger towards the black mustang that tossed its head in the small breeze and snorted lightly. "I need to go into the desert."

The trainer's eyes opened wide at the explanation, looking between the horse and her with a nervous presence around him. "Well…I don't know…" He told her, shifting away slightly.

Gabriella eyes narrowed in displeasure and then turned to Killer with a frown and started to say: "Well, I think we-"

"_Wait!_" The trainer shouted, stretching out his hand to make her stop everything, especially who she was going to talk to. "I—I think we can work something out…" he started laughing nervously while his eyes shifted back and forth between her and Killer.

Gabriella blinked, her brow rising in confusion as she looked back at him. "Um…sure. What do you suggest?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well…" the trainer mumbled, looking down at his feet as he paused, then he looked up at Killer. "You know what," he blurted out, snapping his head towards her with a serious stare. "Just take the horse." He shoved the leather reins into Gabriella's hands and then he jumped quickly over the fence, dust following his trail as ran away into town.

Gabriella just blinked at the leather straps in her hand then at the horse which blinked back. "That was easy." She said as she faced Killer again. "I was going to say that we need to try and use magic to get into the desert, but I guess not since we have this baby!" she patted the horse's neck lovingly.

Killer just shrugged his shoulders, indifferent with the situation.

"Now, come on Nelly. Let's get you out of here." She patted the horse's neck again and jumped into the fenced ring, landing next to the horse's hooves. Pulling on the reins gently, she guided the horse across the way, dust being kicked up into the air as they went and then she opened a gate, allowing the mustang to file out into a stable that was only a short distance away to get suited up for the ride into the desert.

She strapped on a saddle to the horse's back, adjusting it so that it fit snuggly to the barrel body of the animal, but was still tight enough so she wouldn't fall off. Then she swung her legs over the mustang's back as she climbed on. Tapping her heels against the horse's sides, she brought it into a small trot, leading him back over to Killer and Bedros who were waiting there for her return. "_Ta-da!_" She cheered, stopping the horse in front of the two men by gently pulling the reins. "Ready to head out, Bedros?" She asked the stone devil with an eager smile.

"Sure…" He looked up at her slowly, examining the horse. "But one question."

She eyed him patiently, waiting for him to speak.

"Where's _my_ horse, eh?" The stone devil questioned.

"You don't get one," she grunted, turning her head at the idea in disapproval.

"So where the hell am I gonna sit!" He exclaimed, glaring with frustration swarming his eyes, and also..._pain?_

Gabriella looked at him funnily based on his odd expression, but she shrugged it off, patting the back of the horse with a light tap of her hand to answer his question.

Bedros's red eyes narrowed more into two dangerous slits. "_Hell no_," he growled.

"Well," she drew out childish. "If you just _tell_ me then you don't gotta go and all." She reminded, smiling sweetly.

Bedros just looked away and grumbled, his eyes closed in anger.

"I guess we're going out then." Gabriella shook her head and chuckled; devil's pride stopped him from breaking down and telling her. True, she was a little annoyed with him, but hey, at least she was getting a bit of entertainment out of it, though she had another problem to deal with now. "Can you help me get him up here?" she asked the masked blonde.

Killer just shrugged and reached out to grip Bedros's vest again, hauling him up and onto the back of the horse.

"_Hmph!_" Bedros grunted at the rough force Killer used to drape him over the lower back of the horse like a rolled carpet.

Gabriella looked behind her, seeing that everyone was ready to go; were they comfortable, no, but that wasn't important. So, she gripped the leather reins tighter in her hands, pulling slightly to bring the horse to attention, getting ready to head out.

"Wait." Killer stopped her in her tracks with a calm tone, and she stopped all movement, turning to look over she shoulder at the masked blonde. "You have eight hours before the log post sets." Killer continued. "You have to be back by then or—"

"Or you're gonna leave without me?" She cut him off, guessing what would happen and she rolled her eyes at the petty thought; it didn't matter if she got left behind, that would actually be better, but she had a feeling that Kidd wasn't about to unhook his claws on her anytime soon. "I'll be back when I get back," She said, waving the subject aside with a hand, but she did add: "Or I won't come back at all if I find the gem, so tell Kidd to deal with it."

"You better rephrase that." Killer warned her hauntingly.

"No thanks." She scoffed; like she would ever take back something nasty she said about Kidd, so she waved it all off with a roll of her shoulders and then turned back to the desert scene. "Now, let's go!" She shouted, pulling at the reins with a sharp jerk, making the mustang rear back on its hind legs wildly and the horse whinnied into the desert's cloudless blue sky.

But as the horse did that, Bedros yelped in an unmanly way that turned his cheeks red because he ungracefully rolled off the back of the horse and thumped to the ground on his stomach. Gabriella didn't notice the stone devil's feminine yell and dashed off into the desert, leaving a trail of flying cloudy grime behind her.

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><p>Thundering hooves pounded the rock ground, forming a trail of dust clouds to pass each lone cactus with blurry speed. The mustang's breath was growing heavy as it galloped quickly across the rocky plane with the two strapped to his back, snorting every few minutes to remove the dust collecting around its nostrils. The trip was silent besides the noises from the horse, and for a few times when Bedros had to speak up, giving her directions through the vast land of rock.<p>

The stone devil, grudgingly, was forced to have his arms wrapped around her stomach since no one would cut the bond around his wrists, so he sat there tensely, his shoulders stiff and hunched while he's back was sore from when he made an...unexpected, yet unsurprising trip to the dirt, when they first cast off. She had to back track to get him back so he could be placed on the horse properly, but after the rough, and painful for Bedros, start, the trip was fine...though, Gabriella swore she saw..._giant worms_ burrowing up and then over into the ground in the distance, but she forced her mind to think it was the heat. There was _no way_ the crews' rumors were true about _that_.

Since Bedros was on the island for two months, she was going to ask if he saw any one of these, _mythical_ worms, but the stone devil spoke up before she had the chance, questioning about her connections to Calamity. She ignored him at first, not wanting to talk about it since he was rude to her about the location of the gem. But then he started to squeeze her in his arms, which was rather uncomfortable. So she answered, telling him simply that she was her student and she wanted the silence to come back, but the stone devil still had more questions, much to her dismay.

Bedros went on to ask if she was her only student, or if she still had a class, which in a sense, neither were true since Calamity now had a small school with a few teachers and classrooms. She told him that, and then he went on to ask the stupid question if she was one of the students to find them gem, but when she told him that, he growled, telling he meant if she was the only one or if there were more, which the answer was: no, there were more students out looking, three more to be exact.

Then he questioned if she was a favorite, and she rolled her eyes at there; Calamity didn't show favoritism, if she did, she hid it well. Gabriella along with her fellow peers were part of something that could be called an inner circle, which just meant they were more mature to handle certain things. Like the truth about the Demon War, and how it wasn't caused by Caden, but someone else, someone more sinister than her Ohdan. Then Bedros had the gall to ask if she belonged to the inner circle just because she was a member of the Roland bloodline, which really pissed her off. She was with the inner circle because she was good at magic, even though she didn't show it off much because of reasons she didn't want to bring up, so she ignored anymore of the stone devil's questions, no matter how hard he squeezed her stomach.

Luckily they came to the middle of the island, and she would have passed the big boulder if Bedros hadn't pulled her back, causing the reaction of her pulling the reins which made the horse come to a rough halt. It was a rather jerking motion that made her stomach cramp, and she made sure to let the stone devil know that is the snappiest way she could bark out. Bedros just grunted and he lifted his bond wrists, uncurling one of his fingers to point at a large boulder surrounded by small rocks and dead tumble weeds, saying that was it.

It was a simple looking sight, nothing compared to the mountain she had to climb a matter of weeks ago, but at least it was easier to get to the top of it, though they went through other problems first...

They had difficulty untangling themselves on the horse, and if a innocent bystander was about to turn the corner on them, hearing the conversation, they would have turned around the other way with rosy red cheeks. Yes, it was _that_ bad, and the poor horse was an uncomfortable witness to it all. Though once that was over, she climbed the boulder, hissing in pain at the heat radiating from it, and she was sure she was going to have blisters later. But she would worry about that when she got back to the ship's doctor so he could have a look at it, that's if she was going back. As she started to look through her robe's pocket, she had a mini-panic attack because she thought she lost the crystal, but Musket had it.

Seemed her familiar was worried that someone might steal it, someone like Killer or worse, so he said he was holding onto it for her. She appreciated the gesture, but she scolded him about it, saying he needed to tell her first before he did that. Musket nodded his head glumly, making her feel guilty, so she patted him on the head saying thank you anyway, before he disappeared into the safety of her robe once more.

Taking the crystal in hand, she held onto the chord, letting the clear gem swing in the space with little breeze and it started to swing back and forth, looking for the magical pull of her teacher's gem.

Then Bedros just had to speak again, calling up to her about that he had another question. She ignored him, but he wouldn't stop talking and she finally gave in, allowing him to ask his dumb question and she promised she would answer.

It was about her and Kidd.

Apparently the stone devil heard them fighting last night, and he wanted to know what it was about. _That_ caused red to rise to her cheeks about the silly spark that caused the deadly argument between her and the pirate captain, but she definitely wasn't going to tell Bedros what it was. So, she told half the truth, which was he wanted her to mop the deck, which was the outcome of the former reason.

It was confusing, it was just a little..._tweek_ in her gut that cause her to snap at Kidd for doing something like _that_, and it got worse when Kidd called her..._jealous._ She would _never_ be jealous about anything having to do with that twisted thing called a man, _not ever_. And when she told him that he went into a vivid rage, first chasing after her, but when he caught her, he said he wasn't going to waste his time beating the living shit out of her and that she could just waste _her_ precious time mopping the deck. She left all that out, and simply told Bedros about mopping, but the stone devil would not believe it.

She ignored anything else the stone devil said to her and just focused her full and undivided attention on the crystal. It swung to and fro, the sunlight glancing off the smooth surface and her eyes watched the hypnotic motion, but then the crystal became still. "Damn it." She hissed, shoving the crystal back into the deepest part of her pocket, but then her familiar popped out, snatching up the chord and pulled it with him back into the magic space of her robe as she headed over to the edge of the boulder and climbed down, cursing under her breath the whole way.

"What a sailor's mouth, hmm?" Bedros mused, the devil easily understanding the language is own kind, but then he had the nerve to continue speaking. "Didn't find it?" he chuckled, leaning back and forth on the back of the horse in a childish manor.

She refused to answer him and just got back onto the horse, struggling with getting back into the sattle, and within the horrid embrace of the stone devil that continued to chuckled at her, but she cheerily made him shut the fuck up when she pulled at the reins roughly, rearing the horse's head around towards the town again. The stone devil gasped at the sudden turn, holding onto her tightly in case he would fall, and she actually hoped he didn't since she would be forced to the ground with him, so she kicked to the horse's side sharply with her heels, the horse sped off until they got back to town.

The sun had set by the time they got back, and they left before early that morning, so that meant she had stayed out way passed her 'Kidd bedtime' for when they were supposed to leave hours ago, and Gabriella sorta hoped that they _did_ leave her behind. She didn't want to face Kidd in _so_ many ways right now.

Though there was still one more thing she wanted to do, which was to throw the stone devil into the ocean for _real_ this time since the last time she couldn't kill him because she wanted to know if the gem was there. Well, with her question answered now; the gem not being there; she didn't need him around anymore. So when the horse stopped at the stables, hanging its head low in exhaustion, she jumped over the sattle, pulling Bedros with her. She expertly shimmied around his arms so he was the only one that fell down, slipping down the length of her body and then crashed to the ground with the _thud_. He opened his mouth to bark something at her, but she didn't give him time to and grabbed the back of his vest, dragging him across the dusty plane into the one street town.

"Hey! What're you doin'!" Bedros screeched, thrashing around in her grip, kicking his legs and digging his heels in the dirt.

"Going to the docks."

"Wait, _what!_" Bedros cried, his struggle increasing.

"Because," was all she said.

"_Because what!_" Bedros retorted, fear forming in his eyes. "Just because I'm being who I am, a devil, you are going to _kill_ me? What kind of a summoner mage _are_ you?"

"A mad one," was her answer.

"_But you shouldn't take it out on me!_" He wailed, screaming loud enough to make the dead, or at least the people living in town. "What would Calamity say if you did this, huh!"

Gabriella stopped walking and turned to look him in the eyes with a serious glare. "What would Calamity say to you if she saw what _you_ did?" She hissed back. "_You_ should want to help since the gem is just as important to you as it is to me, but _no_, you held your devil's pride up your ass because you wanted to be a stubborn son of a bitch."

Bedros stared at her for a moment, blinking his wide eyes in shock. "That doesn't mean you should kill me..." He mumbled in last defense.

She scoffed. "Well I have to do something to you for all that shit you put me through," she explained, pausing for a moment to think about a punishment for the stone devil. "How about this," she looked down at him with a wicked smile crossing her lips. "You are coming with me." She stated, enjoying the look on his face: fear.

"I changed my mind," Bedros mumbled. "Throw me in the ocean, it's a quick and painless death instead of a long, painfully and miserable one," but then his face fell when she shook her head at his plead and he whimpered as she pulled him back up onto his feet. He stood there for a moment, looking down at his bond wrists, but then something must have caught his eyes because he looked up and slowly started to say with a smirk. "Or maybe it's _you_ who isn't going to alive for much longer, eh?"

Gabriella raised a curious eyebrow at the statement, but then her eyes widened, understanding when she felt the magnetic pull on the chains of her cloak and then went flying back.

"'_I'll be back when I get back, or I won't come back at all if I find the gem, so tell Kidd to deal with it'_." Kidd quoted the very words she said to Killer that morning, but instead of being snapped in an irritable voice, it was in an angry snarl that actually made her gulp. "_Really?_ Are you really _that_ fucking _stupid_ to say_ that?_"

She remained silent, but then Kidd twisted her around so she was forced to look in his eyes, watching them burn with rage in the deadly shadows of night.

"You're a bitch, I hope you know that." He growled, his lips curling into a sneer. "I hate to break it to you, _babe_," he jeered, making her flinch at the word and the tone he used it in as he got closer to her face, their noses inches away from touching. "But that's not going to happen. I don't give a flying fuck about this stupid gem you're looking for, nor will I ever. I brought you onto my crew because I want to exploit all that power of yours so I can reap the benefits in the end, just like I told you when we met. So you _are_ staying on my crew. _Got it?_" His questioned coldly.

"But..." she started to mumble, but stopped, finding her voice to be too timid and her attitude slowly started to simmer back to the surface when she saw the look on his face turn into a smirk at her meek tone. "But what happens when I find the gem?" She snapped, moving her face back from his, creating distance that she oh-so badly needed. "I have orders to report back to Calamity once I find it."

"Well." Bedros interjected smoothly from behind, causing all negative emotions to be directed towards him, but he was actually able to ignore it and he continued speaking. "There is _mor_e than one person looking for the gem, _so _technically someone else could find it, and you can stay here, thus pleasing _your_ captain here in the end."

Kidd grinned, turning his attention back at her with sly smile that showed off his pearly whites when he heard the statement. "Seems like that is taken care of." He let got of the chain on her back in a flash and her feet thumped when her heels hit the ground. "Plus the eight hours were up a long time ago, so you're late." He grunted, turning away from her and headed to the docks. "_Now hurry up!_" He commanded over his shoulder.

Gabriella watched him walk away, her golden eyes narrowing darkly and then a low chuckle turned her glare from the devilish redhead to the stone devil beside her. "You're a bastard, I hope you know that."

Bedros let another laugh escape passed his lips. "A bastard that's coming with you," he reminded, then held out his still bond wrists. "Now if you could untie me...we can get this show on the road, hmm?" He smirked devilishly at thought; this was going to be _very_ fun for him.

* * *

><p>Well, that's the end of this little bit, and I hope you enjoyed it.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Operant Conditioning

So here is the next chapter, and I'm glad to hear that people think Kidd's in character. For some reason it's harder for me to keep him in character then Law, go figure.

**Edited: Don't listen to most of the words above: keeping certain cannon characters in character is harder than you think because everyone views that character differently, so what you think is not OoCness, another person will think it is OoCness. Though, there are those times that the character will be a little OoC, if you are new to this story, you have a nice treat coming up with Kidd and super fluffy OoCness in upcoming chapters :D. So anyway, a little OoCness is NOT a bad thing, it adds something to the scene: like humor for example. It's just when things get out of hand...like Kidd skipping in a field of flowers singing...now THAT is OoC.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own plot and OCs.

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><p>Chapter 6: Operant Conditioning.<p>

"_No_."

_That_ was a word Kidd did _not_ like to hear; not one bit. It just blew the fuse on his temper bomb, his rage gushing out his veins to make him go into a violent frenzy, but he was able to keep a small amount of control on it, the key word being _small_. Though that control was slipping through his fingers like grease because of the mage standing before him, disrespecting him as the _captain_, and also refusing to response to one of his orders.

That was icing on the cake, yet he hadn't lost full control, though it was so close to snapping as his hands slammed down on his desk, his chair toppling over from the sudden force of standing up violently after hearing the _little_ mage bluntly say _no _with her arms crossed in defiance. It made his blood boil to see her acting like that: like a fucking brat. "_Say that again._" Kidd seethed through clenched teeth, grinding them together as a vein of fury pulsed on his forehead.

The mage rolled her eyes in annoyance, causing Kidd to flinch. Rage bubbled inside him and it wanted to explode after her actions and what she said to him. "I said, _no_. Which means: _no_, I will _not_ help the cook clean the kitchen, and that includes the dishes caked with grease and grime from your crew. I am _not_ your maid, or the crew's maid." She scoffed, attitude sharp on her tongue as she turned her nose up in the air at the distasteful thought.

"It's not whether you're a maid or not." Kidd gritted, closing his eye in frustration before his desk went flying across the room..._again_. "It's that fact that I'm_ your_ captain and you're a member of_ my_ crew, and that means: _do as I say._"

"Yeah…well," she drew out with a skeptical click of her tongue. "The thing is, I don't '_clean'_ up after other people, especially a bunch of sea dogs that don't know anything about _correct_ eating habits. That is just something I do _not_ do." She huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something other than cleaning to do, which is nothing." She said, turning on the tip of her heel then walked briskly out the door and not even bothering to shut it behind her.

Kidd felt his rage completely snap, but when the mage disappeared from sight, it simmer down to silent anger and he was able to calm down, just a bit though. It was such a small thing to get mad over, cleaning the kitchen, but it was more like his last straw with her than anything. It was like the fire that lit the bomb that _she_ was building inside his gut for far too long.

It started with her snappy attitude. At first he thought it was entertaining since he didn't get to argue with people like that all too much: they either died or listened to him, but now it was getting so god-damn annoying. She wouldn't stop, and he was so close to punching her in the cheek to make sure the skin would swell and bruise to the point where she couldn't talk for weeks, maybe months. It was a glorious fantasy: the mage being a silent little puppet under his control, but he knew that was never going to happen, which caused him to clenched his teeth.

Even if she was silenced, her actions wouldn't stop, her order defying actions that he just wanted to end for the sake of his sanity. It started when they were attacked by a simple Marine ship that had called in back up close by; nothing new in his book, though rather annoying because the petty Marines were wasting his time. He wanted stronger opponents, not the same old weak ones he has been fighting since the South Blue. It was just a waste of time, but with the mage on board, he thought that he would be able to cut the time battling the Marines in more than just half.

That didn't happen. During the fight, Kidd saw no glowing gold of the mage's magic as she summoned her deadly demons and devils from where they lived, there was only his crew fighting the Marines with twisted grins on their lips. He wanted to know where the fuck she was and found her in her room...reading. He snapped, grabbing the scruff of her robe at the chest and pulled her away, taking her to the fight, but by the time he actually got her the room because she was resisting him so much, the fight was already over.

He let that one slide, but warned her the next time she didn't come when someone yelled _all-hands-on-deck,_ it wasn't going to be pretty, and unsurprisingly, she did it again, but for a time when they actually could have used her magic to stop the ship from being eaten alive by a giant ass Sea King that looked like a bull dog with fins. It took the crew six long hours to kill the thing, wasting thousands of beli worth of cannon balls and ammo on the thing that could have been killed with something twice its size from the summoner mage's collection of creatures, but guess where Kidd found her: in her room...reading..._again_.

That is what really added to the explosives in his gut, and her disobeying that same order was enough to make him want to rip her head off, but he couldn't, which is what made him clench his teeth even harder until they felt united. He growled, the note rumbling from the pits of his throat and his fingers curled harshly around papers on his desk, crinkling them into different odd shapes. "That _bitch_ is being a bigger pain in my ass than I thought." Kidd muttered to Killer, who was leaning calmly against a wall to the side of the room.

"You didn't have to take her with us, you know." The masked blonde pointed out smoothly to the red head.

"She's a mage," was Kidd's simple response to the comment as he bent down to pick up his chair and properly placed it back with all four legs on the floor, and then he slid into the cushions with an exhausted sigh, rubbing his temples. "I couldn't just let a chance like that pass by."

"Maybe." Killer shrugged and he pushed himself from the wall using his shoulder blades. "But now you need to work something out with this..._habit_ of hers."

"_Bad_ habit." Kidd corrected, pinching the bridge of his nose, massaging it gently to release the tense. "Fixing that is going to hard."

"Well…" A voice drew out slowly with a touch of humor laced within the laugh that followed after. "There is actually an _easy_ way to change this _nasty_ habit of hers." The voice continued to laugh along with the door creaking open to reveal the cowboy hat wearing stone devil.

Kidd leaned back in his seat and gave Bedros a curious look. "Why would you want to help me?" he bluntly asked the stone devil walking to his desk.

"You see…" Bedros started, rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands deep in his pockets and a bashful look painted behind the shadow of his hat. "She threaten to kill me last island, twice, and I want to get her back." He bluntly stated, smirking lightly. "So what better way than having the captain help me out, eh?" The stone devil's smirk widened. "Plus this will be beneficial to you as well."

Kidd leaned forward in his seat, actually finding the idea to be worth listening to. "And what it this 'easy' way to get that bad habit of her's to break?" Kidd asked, propping an elbow up and rested his chin in a hand while the other let his black fingertips tap repeatedly on the desk's wooden surface.

Bedros's smirk widened ten-fold when he saw the devilish grin painted on the red head's lips. "Just use a little bit of…_operant conditioning._ It should do the trick of cleaning up her act and changing it completely." A low chuckle slipped past the growing smug look on the devil's face.

"Operant conditioning?" Kidd said slowly as his brows furrowed together; he heard of that before, but how would it help.

"You know…" Bedros went on to explain. "It's when you change a subject's, Gabriella's, behavior using positive, negative reinforcement or..._punishment._" A sly grin grew onto his features, and Kidd felt the exact same smile spread on his as well.

"Punishment you say…" Kidd rubbed two fingers along his chin, turning the idea over and over in his mind and connected the dots. Punishment was something he had done to her over and over of course because she wouldn't listen; that was something that always crossed his mind when she did something to piss him off. The punishments were all different though, and they needed to be the same to change her behavior like operant conditioning called for. Also, it needed to be done the moment she disobeyed his order. Though watching over her wasn't a happy note in his plan, but in the long run, if she would just listen to him then it would be worth it. "Seems like a good idea." Kidd nodded after his thoughts were collected. "And I think I have an idea of what the punishment is going to be, too." An evil chuckle erupted passed his red painted lips.

"Do you think this whole idea will even work, Kidd?" Killer spoke up with a wary tone in his voice.

"Of course it will." Bedros answered the first-mate's question with a small wave of his hand, pushing aside the caution in the masked blonde's mind. "Operant conditioning can't fail; it will _always_ change the person's behavior if done correctly."

"See." Kidd motioned with a hand towards the stone devil with a small grin. "This plan if foolproof; now." He turned towards the open door. "Let's find that attitude filled mage and teach her a lesson."

"You go, Captain Kidd!" Bedros mockingly saluted him as he stalked out of his office and to the deck where he thought the summoner mage went to after the souring encounter about cleaning the kitchen.

The hard cluck of his boots' soles echoed in the hallway along side the heels of his first-mate. The smell of the sea blistered stronger as he neared the door to his ship's deck and upon opening it, he was embraced with the contrasting hues of blue from the ocean and sky without a cloud in the sky. Kidd stopped after he left the doorway, taking in the smell and sight of the sea before he scanned his busy and at work crew to find the lazy summoner mage sitting on the railing with a day dreamy look in her golden eyes. Kidd, being the devil-fruit user he is, used his magnetic powers and he watched the chain on the back of her cloak shutter from the strong pulses coming from his hand, then the whole mage flew back until the chain was firmly in his fist.

"_Hey!_" she yelled, reaching her hands over and behind her head in a failed attempt to escape his grasp.

"I want you to clean the kitchen, top to bottom; _now_." He ordered her sternly with a straight face.

Gabriella looked over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at him. "No; I told you I _wasn't_ going to do it."

From the look on her face, she must have been expecting him to just scowl back at her angrily with a dangerous look, but instead, he grinned with a sly smile that confused the summoner mage by far. "_Repel._" Kidd said shortly, watching her eyes grow wide and his hand let go of the chain on her back, but instead of her feet hitting the ground, the summoner mage flew back towards the railing, tumbling over the edge with a splash of ocean spray.

"Throwing her in the ocean is the punishment." Killer's question come out more of a statement as Kidd turned back around to the inner of his ship.

"She doesn't like being wet or cold, so it's fitting." Kidd shrugged with the same grin still plastered on his face. "Make sure we don't lose her, but don't help her out or tell her about this little…_experiment_ either." He ordered his first mate before disappearing inside of the ship.

Killer let out a small and almost inaudible sigh through his mask as he walked over to the railing. The masked blonde leaned against the railing, crossing his arms over his poke-a-dotted shirt and gazed down over the side of the ship. Through his mask, he could hear the abnormal sloshes of water hitting the thick wooden side and he saw orange-tinted ginger hair glowing against the blue waters and deep wooden brown.

Gabriella's nails clung to the wooden as she tried to claw her way up the way she fell. The wind misplaced a thick strand of her soaking wet hair, and she swiped her arm across her forehead to move it, and then she saw the blue and white helmet staring down at her. "Little help here." She called up to him.

"Can't," he answered

"Why not!" She glared at him as another wave of water hit her.

"Orders," was all he said.

Gabriella lowered her head, cursing in the foreign language that Killer still couldn't understand as she continued to climb up the side of the ship, sticking her fingers into small cracks in between the wooden boards until she finally reached the top. She pulled herself up and over the railing, gasping for breath and she collapse to the deck's floor. "That…was…terrible…" She panted heavily sprawled out exhausted, letting water pool around her soaked form.

"You could have used magic." Killer pointed out, leaning over her.

"I…" she rasped, then shuttered as a cool breeze passed over her, and then she continued. "I was perfectly capable of getting back up on my own…" She mumbled, glaring up at him weakly.

"Then why did you ask for my help?" Killer asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because you were watching and I thought it would be nice if you did."

"Too bad I don't do nice." Killer said bluntly.

"But I thought you didn't help because you had an order not to."

"That too," he agreed.

"…You're mean…" Gabriella grumbled, puffing out her cheeks childishly.

Killer ignored her pouting and changed the topic. "Are you going to clean the kitchen now?"

Gabriella sat up straight from her spot, her pout twisting into a scowl. "_Of course not!_" She declared harshly. "Throwing me in the ocean won't make me do it!" She snapped, jumping back up on her feet, but the water almost made her slip. "Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to try and get dry," she huffed, pulling her damp hood over her head to cover her long, pointed ears that were peeking out from strands of hair, and she turned towards the door leading to the hall where her room was located.

Killer just watched her walk away and shook his head at her reaction, knowing the worse outcome and what it would bring for her.

And the next time wasn't any better for the summoner mage either.

She was lounging on the deck's railing, taking in the semi-peacefulness since the crews' shouting in the galley was ringing in the background. She was getting used to that sound too, the sound of the anxious crews' noises. So, she was able to sit there in comfort, alone in her own little world as she curled up with her knees to her chest just watching the sun slowly fall passed the horizon in the distance. The once blazing yellow circle was now a deep shade of orange surrounded by pinks, red, and purples that turned the clouds a dark grey with an yellow highlight around the edges. The changing hue of the water was calming, making her rest her head on her knee caps to look at it from an angle, and she was slowly starting to close her eyes until they snapped back open when she heard the door to the galley open, the sounds of the crew growing in volume. Then the door shut and the thumps of heavy boots came from behind, making her groan, since _he_ was the last person she wanted to see.

"What is it?" She moaned, not even bothering to look as she felt Kidd's weight press against the railing.

"Did you do what I told you?" Kidd asked, a lazy tone in his voice.

Gabriella scoffed, rolling her eyes at the question. "_No._ Why would I?"

Kidd didn't answer her and demanded instead: "Go clean the kitchen."

"If I didn't go do it the other two times then what makes you think I'll do it this time. Sometimes 'third times the charm' doesn't work." She defied him again with a glare.

Kidd's response was something she didn't expect; him placing his hands on her shoulders and then pressing his chest flush against her back. She felt her whole body tense up at the action, and Kidd must have noticed because he leaned close to her ear, chuckling darkly before he moved his hands to her shoulder blades and pushed.

She screamed as she fell down, but then all she felt was water filtering into her lungs after she broke the calm water's surface with a loud splash. The water pushed her back up, making her resurfaced, breaking the water again with a heavy gasp for air and she lunged for the side of the ship so she wouldn't get lost at sea, clinging to the wood desperately. "_You jerk!_" she screeched, scowling with red fury at the grinning pirate captain above her.

Kidd just shook his head with a bellowing laugh and continued to lean against the railing until she climbed up to the deck again, and when she reached the railing, she was seething fire.

"_What was that for!_" she yelled at him, stomping a wet foot to the ground.

Kidd just continued to laugh as he stalked away from her so he could rejoin his crew in the galley.

She just watched him go, glaring daggers at the back of his head and hoping that some force out there would allow a blade to sink into the back of his skull, but it wasn't answered since the pirate captain walked back into the ship, perfectly fine and still laughing the whole way, making her scoff. "What is his problem?" She muttered, wringing out her hair to let the sea water drip down onto the deck. "He's never thrown me into the ocean before, not until today." She grumbled then plopped her wet hood back on her head.

"Maybe he's gettin' a kick out of seeing you struggle to the top." A voice laughed at her, making she snap her head around to see Bedros leaning against the mass with a large humorous grin on his tanned face.

"Shut up, will you." Gabriella snapped, bundling up the cloth of her cloak then wrung out the water hanging in the threads.

"Nah, I don't have to listen to you, ya know." Bedros crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever." Gabriella mumbled, rolling her eyes as she stomped away with a trail of water behind her.

"I'm tellin' ya!" Bedros called out one last time before she disappeared into her room again. "You should listen to him."

"Not gonna happen." Gabriella huffed, waving a hand over her head without turning around and she continued to walk into the belly of the ship until she disappeared into the shadowy doorway.

Bedros just shook his head with a low chuckle. "You should listen or else." He repeated to the starry night, looking up while he hooked his hands behind his neck. "But more entertaining for me if you don't." He chuckled, starting to smirk wildly at the thought.

And the more entertaining it got for the stone devil as the moon set over the watery horizon and let the sun rise the next morning.

Bedros sat on the railing, watching the summoner mage with keen eyes, an amused glaze covering them as he waited patiently for the moment Kidd would walk out the cabin door to her side then tell her his order and she blow it off with a snarky response then Kidd would throw her over board. It was going to be an excellent scene, and the sound of heavy boots told him that the show was about to begin.

"You smell like salt." Kidd bluntly told her with a grin.

"You jerk." Gabriella greeted with a furious scowl from under the shadow of her hood.

"Did you do as I told you?" Kidd asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"_No._" She scoffed and turned around to face the ocean.

"Go clean the kitchen." Kidd ordered her shortly with a wicked grin.

Bedros's smile widened until the tips of his sharp teeth were showing in the light of the morning sun when he saw the look on the summoner mage's face.

Gabriella jumped from her seat on the railing and stood in front of the tall red head with a deep scowl etched onto her shadowed features. "I will _not_ do _anything_ you tell me because of all the crap you have put me through!" She declared, jabbing a finger squarely to his chest. "_You stupid bru—_"

Kidd didn't let her finish, shoving a hand out within inches of her face, making the summoner mage jerk back to avoid any contact, but it only caused her to stumble backwards against the railing until her weight forced her back into the ocean.

"Heh." Kidd grunted in approval, walking away from the summoner mage when he heard her hit the ocean's surface.

Bedros continued to smirk as he hopped off his seat perched on the railing and strolled over to where the summoner mage fell to the ocean again. Leaning over the side, he peered down at her clinging to the side of the ship by her fingernails. He let out a low chuckled that traveled down to her long, pointed ears and she snapped her head up to glare through strands of hair that was plastered to her face.

"You should have listened to me last night." Bedros snickered with eyes narrowed in entertainment, watching her try and climb the ship's side.

"Just shut up and help me up you jerk." Gabriella called up to him.

"But you said: '_I'm perfectly capable of getting up myself_'." He mimicked her in a high pitched voice.

Gabriella's golden eyes narrowed sharply at the stone devil. "You need to learn not to eavesdrop, and just help me up,_ damnit!_"

"If Kidd told Killer not to, then I'm pretty sure I'm not suppose to either." Bedros put up his hands as he walked away from the railing, letting out a series of little chuckles when he heard her cursing in the tongue of devils as he walked over to the other side of the ship again, but instead of his vacant seat he found the ship's first mate leaning against his spot with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you trying to help Kidd, or are you just doing this for your own entertainment." Killer questioned the stone devil.

"I cannot tell a lie." Bedros held his arms out wide in a sweeping motion, and he could tell from the blonde's head movements that he was rolling his eyes behind the mask. "I am doing this just to get back at her for trying to kill me, but also for the added bonus of getting on Kidd's good side."

"You won't be on Kidd's good side after this." Killer bluntly told the stone devil.

"What do you mean?" Bedros tilted his head, baffled at the comment.

"Because this 'experiment'," Killer air quoted the word. "Isn't going to work."

"Do you _not_ know _anything_ about the types of learning?" Bedros questioned the first-mate still confused. "Operant conditioning is a type of learning that once a subject learns the behavior, can't be changed unless more conditioning is added to change it."

"I know that." Killer said simply.

"Then _why_ won't it work?" Bedros mused with a humored laugh at the masked blonde.

"Because it won't." Killer said again. "Kidd will just continue to do this, and when he sees the outcome, he _won't_ like it." Killer left it at that and walked away from the stone devil to let him stare with confused red eyes.

And the masked blonde was right; his captain continued with the merciless punishment of throwing the summoner mage overboard since she still wouldn't clean the kitchen. One time, they almost lost the mage in a large wave that caught them all off guard when she was clinging to the ship's side, and Kidd had to go against his original orders and told Killer to get her before the chains on her clothing made her drown. Killer could only sigh and do what he was told; he thought this whole thing was stupid since the beginning, but now he knew it would never work, making it even _more_ stupid. Especially the day when the 'experiments' results came into light. She was sitting on the railing like she normally did in the mornings, and Killer was leaning against the railing on the opposite side of the ship with Bedros beside him, watching Kidd walk over to the summoner mage with a smug grin planted on his features.

"Did you clean the kitchen yet?" He asked the summoner mage, just like he had for over three weeks.

She looked up at him, but there was no glare to her expression, only a blank one "No." She answered in a soft voice, starting to shifted in her seat.

"Go clean the kitchen." Kidd ordered, crossing his arms over his chest.

The summoner mage just looked up at him, her eyes widening and her pupils dilating within her golden irises and a small shiver was noticeable as it ran down her spine and she couldn't stop shaking, like she was placed in the middle of a snow storm rather than the warm weather that was around her in reality.

Kidd just blinked at the abnormal response since just the other day she had a sharp comment to his normal question. "I say: go clean the kitchen." He repeated the demand, feeling a small bit of anger rising in his tone.

Her response was another shutter running through her bones, and she wrapped her arms around her, like freezing cold water was splashed over her head as she continued to stand in the imaginary snow storm.

Kidd's eyes narrowed sharply, not liking her choice of silence and roughly grabbed her by the collar of her cloak, dragging her across the deck to the stone devil. "What the fuck is wrong with her?" He questioned Bedros harshly, shaking the shivering, wide eyed summoner mage in his closed fist.

"I don't know…" Bedros mumbled, shaking his head very slowly, staring at the deep scowl on the red head's face. "It…it should have worked…"

"Then _why_ isn't she listening to me." Kidd snarled, shaking the summoner mage sharply again. "Operant conditioning was supposed to work. _You_ said it would, and it obviously _didn't._"

"It _did_ work." Killer spoke up, correcting Kidd's statement.

"Then why the fuck isn't she listening to me." Kidd snapped, glaring at his first mate.

"She_ is_ listening to you." Killer sighed through his mask. "You taught her _not_ to talk back."

Kidd was silent and thought over what his first mate said. Didn't he do everything right? He gave her an order to follow, she denied it, and he punished her. So why wasn't she listening to him now and just not talking back? It was a good thing, but not the thing he wanted. Kidd closed his eyes in thought, examining his data, and then it hit him. He never forced her to do the work after the punishment. He just left after the punishment, and all he reinforced was her talking back.

So now, she was _ignoring_ his orders. At this realization, Kidd's growled angrily at the summoner mage, narrowing his eyes then promptly threw her into the ocean.

* * *

><p>Silly Kidd, he needed to look over his plan a bit more then that. But hey, now she won't talk back. Though she will ignore him now. Which is better?<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: Abandoned Houses

So now that Gabriella has been through operant conditioning, how will she react to Kidd since she can't talk back? Well, you'll see in this chapter, though not really...oh well.

**Edited: I always liked this chapter...but it was a bit messily planned out. Well, that's what editing is for, right? :D**

Nothing else to say, so enjoy the small read!

**Edited: Not a small read anymore. 2000 more words!**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own plot and OCs.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Don't Play in Abandoned House.<p>

Ever since those weeks of pure terror, but pure fun for Kidd, the summoner mage avoided the pirate captain at all costs so she wouldn't be thrown into the sea anymore. She hid in the smallest places she could find because she knew that no man would ever be able to reach her, though the words could still reach her ears. He still had things he wanted her to do; from cleaning out a storage room to see what they had or needed, mopping the deck of blood after a long battle with the Marines, which were fights she still avoided, but at least she helped against Sea Kings or maybe some rival pirate crew. It slightly annoyed Kidd that she wan't helping with all the fights, but at least she was coming out from some; baby steps were being taken, so he couldn't argue with that.

Her main job though was just going through the supply rooms. It was a simple task and it also left her in one place for a long time so he either knew where she was or if he wanted to avoid her. Though finding her was the tricky part; she was good at hiding when she wanted to, but he was always too busy to hunt her down, which meant he didn't want to actually go look and find her in whatever hiding space she was in that day.

So, he made one of his lower ranking crew members find her, or Bedros since the stone devil _really_ liked to torment the summoner mage in anyway. So. telling her to do what Kidd wanted her to do with the added _or else_, which she filled in the blank, was entertaining to the stone devil. From what Kidd heard, she would scurry out of the hiding spot, hurrying quickly away so she could do what she was told in just the snap of a finger, but only most of the time.

This was one of those times where she didn't go do what he wanted right away and when he found out, Kidd wasn't happy about it at all.

The crew was docked at a new island, and they needed to restock on cannon balls since they were almost completely cleaned out. It was the summoner mage's job to count the amount left so that they could figure out what was used and what needed to be replaced. That didn't happen though since she went off as soon as the gangplank was lowered, dashing off into the deep to explore to find this '_gem_' she was always talking about. With that, she forgot the important task that Kidd ordered her to do.

So now, he was stalking through town, scanning over the people he passed, trying to pin-point her with a noticeable scowl on his grim face, making the crowds part for him more than they usually did and that's how he found her. The people scurried away, looks of complete terror on their face because of his facial expression, and when a group of local thugs saw him, they gulped before racing into the shadows, and he saw her.

Her back was towards him, making the decorative chains on her cloak shine in the sunlight that was starting to hide behind dark grey clouds. She seemed to be peeking through thin rusted bars of a tall locked gate went up to a run down house. The building looked like it had seen better years, the black paint was peeling off, and looked like it was started to create a blueish tint on the black. The roof looked ready to cave in, the grimy looking pillars that supported it seemed ready to give up, calling it quits any moment, allowing the pressure of the roof to drop along with the broken clock tower on top.

Though Kidd could care less about the structure, and he started to walk over to her quickly. Oblivious to him right behind her, she continued to stare up at the tallest point of the island until he slapped a hand onto her shoulder. She yelped in shock, and it was a girlish pitch that he never heard from her before, which entertained him slightly, but not enough to wipe the scowl from his lips.

She whipped around, making his hand on her shoulder slip away and she looked up at him, the startled look on her features twisting into irritation. "_Don't scare me like that!_" She hissed through clenched teeth, and he could have sworn he even see a small pinkish blush from embarrassment rising to her cheeks from him hearing the girlish noise she made, but he ignored it.

"Didn't I tell you do to something?" It came out more of the statement than a question, his scowl deepening as he saw the the look on her face switch to guilt.

She tired to hide the look, pulling on the edges of her hood, but it wasn't working, so to avoid his piercing gaze, the summoner mage looked down at her feet and dug the tip of her boot into the dirt, making small circles.

"I told you to check the supplies." Kidd elaborated for her. "We need to restock on ammo for the cannons or else the next time we find a Sea King we're fish food. Do you want that?"

"No..." She mumbled, continuing to dig holes in the dusty ground. "And, I just…forgot to look…" She answered in a nervous voice, fidgeting as her eyes darted back and forth, her body starting to shiver.

"Go do it now," Kidd ordered, scoffing at the way she was reacting. "We can't get anything if you don't do it." Kidd bluntly said, grabbing her hooded collar, and he was about to pull her back to the ship, but then a small drop hit his cheek followed by many more coming down at a quick pace. "Shit." He cursed with a hiss like quality.

Kidd could stand the rain since his coat protected most of him, with a little added weight to it due to water, but he knew the summoner mage wouldn't even try to stand it; she made it very clear that she didn't like to be wet for weeks. And he didn't want to deal with her bitching about being wet the whole way back to the ship, which wasn't long in truth, maybe only fifteen minutes, but it would be _much _longer than that if he just went back to the ship. So, he went to plan B: he used his free hand, causing the rusted lock to brake into a million little pieces as the gate flung open courtesy of his devil fruit powers. Then he started to drag her to the abandoned house that would prove as shelter for the time being, but they were still drenched by the time they got to the porch.

Much to his dismay, she started to moan at the feeling of being wet, but he took his anger out on something else, which was kicking the door in, but he still had to anger built up, so he took it out on her by flinging the summoner mage into the house's foyer. He watched with small amusement as she stumbled in, and then stepped in himself, dripping pools of water on the entry way's floor.

She continued to stumble as the heeled soles of her boots skidded through water, but then she regained her balance. "Man-handling isn't nice." She commented quietly, pulling the extra fabric of her cloak, bundling it up and started to wring out the water.

"Does it look like I care?" Kidd scowled, limp strands of his brilliant red colored hair covering his eyes and goggles.

She didn't snap back a nasty retort, this she did blurt out: "You look like a shaggy dog though."

His scowled hardened as water dripped down his pale skin. It may have sounded innocent enough, but it still got on his nerves so that earned her a forceful smack upside the head, making her groan in pain as she clutched her hooded head. "Let's just find something to dry off our clothes." Kidd grumbled, stomping away down the halls to find some room with a fireplace or stove.

He heard the light taps of her feet behind him as he continued to walk through a nearby doorway that led into what looked to be a parlor. All the furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust, giving the original colors a hazy look. It didn't look as decaying at the outside did since most elements couldn't effect it, so the wallpaper wasn't peeling, though there were some holes in it, probably from animals that got in. The placed didn't smell like vermin though, it just smelled of old wood, an over all musty scent, which actually made him scrunch his nose at the stench of years. Though, one thing that was good about the room was it housed a large fireplace against the opposite side of the wall. Kidd grinned at that and started to walk over, but then the summoner mage spoke up.

"How are we going to light the fire?" She questioned, walking up to stand beside him and glanced up, blinking slowly.

Kidd sighed, followed by the echoing bang that hit the fireplace's cement walls, causing sparks to shoot out and cling to the dry wood, making it go up in flames.

She blinked in confusion. "But your gun's…wet?" She said, unsure of herself as she looked between the fireplace and the revolver in his hand, baffled.

"Is it?" Kidd mused with a grin, holding out the revolver for her to see.

Gabriella reached out hesitantly, unsure if he would jerk away the gun at last minute, but he didn't so she continued and brushed her fingers against the metal surface, causing no rain drops to transfer to the tips of her fingers. "How is that even possible?"

Kidd just shrugged his shoulders, putting his revolver away and started to walk over to the fireplace. The chairs were a no go of him, they were covered in soot and he didn't want to deal with that, so he kicked a coffee table over towards the flames and wiped it off with a hand. He grimaced at all the thick dust on his palm and shook it, causing the flakes to flutter to the ground. Now he needed to find a place to put his coat, and oddly enough, there was a coat-rack next to the fireplace. Maybe the former owners had the same idea about getting coats dried off more quickly. So he pulled his dripping wet fur coat off, then hooked it onto one of the racks, allowing water to drip down into a puddle on the floor and then sat down on the coffee table close to the fireplace to dry off a bit.

"So that's what you look like without the coat." Gabriella commented, walking over to the coat rack, leaning over to eye him curiously with a thoughtful tilt of her head.

Kidd turned to look at her, scoffing lightly. "Better take your coat off too. You don't want to get sick."

"Awe, you actually care? That's so sweet." She teased, a taunting smirk crossing her lips as she did what she was told, starting to shrug off her soaked cloak.

Kidd scoffed again. "Yeah right," he rolled his eyes at the thought. "I just don't want to hear you bitch about being sick for a week."

"_Hmph._" Gabriella huffed, but didn't counter with a sly reply and simply walked over to the coat-rack.

Kidd couldn't help but stare. He had never seen her without the cloak off before, and he heard little rumors about her from the crew, saying that she had a pretty nice set; and he could admit that those rumors were living up to be facts. She wore barely anything on underneath, which explained why she was always cold. Her back was turned towards him, so he saw the skin of her shoulder blades and lower back, dripping with water from the knot tied around her neck to hold up her shirt and the hem of the black fabric wrapped around the middle of her back. Then she turned back around, allowing him to get a good look at her cleavage showing from the deep 'v' neckline her shirt made. A small smirk tugged on the corner of his lips; the twins were nice.

"Um..." He heard her mumble, but his mind started to force his eyes to look at her legs since she started to shift back and forth on them.

He would admit she had a nice pair of legs, too. She wore a pair of jean shorts that hung loosely on her hips, allowing a large amount of her stomach to show between the hem of her shirt and the shorts. He would have licked his lips at the sight of the, admittedly, attractive woman before him, but then something changed that.

"Stop staring," she spoke up, her voice having a sharp edge to it. "It's rude."

He rolled her eyes at her instead; she may have the body, but her personality was a bit on the rough side, making him turn his gaze away easily. Though she was getting better with listening and not talking back. It was small, but still more than before; baby steps in the right direction at least.

After that, she then sat down next to him, which was surprising, though maybe she was sitting there because the surface was clean unlike everywhere else in the room. Then there was a silence. They just sat there in complete silence, staring into the flickering flames, but he could tell that she was getting bored by her fidgeting. She tried to erase boredom that was creeping in by wringing water out of her ginger hair first, but that earned her a glare when water dripped onto his leg. So she stopped that and went back to being still, but then she started tapping her fingers against her bare thighs and clicking her tongue in a rhythmical way.

That sound only made a twitch come to Kidd's brow and a vein bugle from irritation. "_Would you stop that?_" Kidd hissed through his teeth in a dangerous tone as his clamped a hand over her mouth.

Gabriella hesitated for a moment, but then pulled his hand away from her mouth. "But I'm bored…" she whispered so low that he needed to lean in to hear her tiny whine.

Kidd rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't care, just _stop._" He ordered.

"But..." She started, but then her lips went into a thin line, and then she gasped lightly as a sudden shock of lightening pulsed from outside, followed by booming of thunder. She looked towards a window, a brown fog of dust covering the glass. "But why don't we do something to pass the time?" She questioned gently. "Like a game?"

Kidd gave her a _you-got-to-be-kidding-I'm-not-doing-that-shit _look.

She looked down at her lap, but then mumbled. "Please?" And she looked back up, tilting her head to the side in a pleading manor with a fair smile.

That made him falter since he never thought it would see the day a woman _smiled_ at him; it just didn't make sense to him. Not even his own mother smiled at him, _ever_. He shook his head at the thought of that; it didn't matter if she smiled or not, his answer was the same. "No way,_ pointy ears_. Go play with your stupid goblin."

The smile snapped into a frown. "Musket is _not_ stupid," her sudden quietness turned back into her attitude filled one. "If you forgot he _does_ have a cold because of you throwing me in the ocean multiple times so I left him on the ship because he needs to get better. Though like you even care, and most importantly: _don't make fun of my ears!_" Her voice rose, like all that fire over the weeks was building up ready to explode when the sour topic was brought up.

Though it only made Kidd's grin widened, purposely staring at her ears, just to tick her off.

Her cheeks started to flare crimson with rage, and her body began to tremble. "_Stop!_" She yelled in a childish manor as she covered her ears.

"Your hands are too small to cover them all!" Kidd barked in laughter, pulling at the tip of her ear that was showing.

"_Stop it!_" She repeated more sharply, jerking her body violently away from him so his fingers were no longer tugging on her ears.

Kidd just continued to laugh at her. "I don't know why you let something like _this_," he reached over, tugging her ear again. "Bother you so much; there are a lot of crazier things out in this would besides pointy ears."

"Well it kinda affects you when you grew up being bullied about it." She snapped, whipping around so he could see her eyes narrowing darkly.

"What do you want me to do? _Pity you?_" He almost gagged on the words. "That's _not_ going to happen. Nor will it ever, _babe,_" Kidd jeered, smirking when he saw her flinch, he knew she _hated_ that word.

Her eyes were slimming into two dangerous slits, and they would have looked menacing if he was scared of her. "Of course I don't want your stupid pity." Her glare deepened. "I just want you to _shut the fuck up_ about my ears, and to _never_ call me that _again_."

"Yeah?" He mocked with a taunting grin, though he felt a small nerve being pulled at the demanding tone in her voice. "And what if I don't? What are you gonna do about it? Do the same thing you did on the play ground back at home?" He let out a crackling laugh at the rising anger from the summoner mage.

"So you _want_ me to break you nose then call you _crooked face_ for life," she threatened coldly.

Kidd just let out a sneering laugh, finding it to be amusing. "For some reason I can see you doing that," he said, leaning back to rest on the palms of his hands. "But I would have just killed everyone. That really shuts people up for good." He stated, glancing at her with a smirk.

"It's also inhumane." She bluntly responded with a blank stare.

"Killing seemed fine to you on the first island we met on." He reminded her, turning at her to sent her an amused stare. "You caused a real massacre there, put the people in an uproar of nervousness."

"It's different when its for self defense," she huffed, turning her head to the side so all her saw was the back of her head. "Plus bullying can be stopped without killing." She added on at the end.

"But then there's a chance it won't stop," he countered. "Would you rather have it start up again or just stop all together?" He challenged, and she just turned her head towards the fireplace, looking at the flames, going completely silent. "See," he mused. "Killing_ does_ fix everything."

She remained silent, her eyes boring into the fire flickering within the three stone walls then her brows started to furrow together in deep thought as her lips went into a thin line, and then she spoke. "_No_." her voice came out cold, a hint of danger laced in the low word. "Killing does _not_ fix everything." She declared, turning toward him with a serious glare etched onto her features, the flames causing a drastic light change on either side of her face, making her expression look more deadly than serious.

Kidd didn't like that, and he snarled at the tone in her voice and the way she was looking at him; her whole person not just disagreeing with him, but telling him he was wrong. He _hated_ when people told him he was wrong. His hand lashed out, latching onto her face so his fingers curled around her cheeks, deforming the cruel looking expression on her face into nothing but putty as his black nails dug into the skin of her cheeks. "_Don't look at me like that_," he growled darkly, his eyes narrowing threateningly as he pulled her closer until their noses almost touched. "And don't you _dare_ talk to me like that again." He snapped, his eyes opening slightly wider as his nails dug further into her skin, almost breaking it.

She yelped softly at the painful touch, and she tried to rip her head away from his grasp, but he held firm, a dark shadow crossing his eyes at her stubbornness to answer him, but it was an answer he _wanted _and_ had_ to hear. "_Yes, sir._" She spat like venom was on the very words, and she forced her eyes open to glare at him weakly.

Kidd dug his nails deeper into her skin at the wrong choice of tone, earning him another small yelp of pain and an uncomfortable look on the summoner mage's face. He remained still, watching her body tremble as his nails were slowly causing craters in the skin of her cheeks, and just a bit more pressure, blood would be produced from the gashes he would cause. He decided that was enough. Satisfied, he let her go. "And I thought that your ears were a sour point." He grumbled under his breath, annoyed at the attitude that he worked three weeks to get rid of come back at him full force.

She was smart and didn't say anything, turning away from him and she even scooted away from him. She sat their shivering, her hands going up to shakily nursed her burning skin by rubbing lightly on the moon crescent red marks along her cheeks. She flinched lightly when her fingers brushed against her skin, causing a sour look to twisted her expression, and then she abruptly stood up.

"Where are you going now?" He questioned, turning to glance of his shoulder to see her retreating form.

"Exploring," she answered simply.

He looked at her oddly. "Why?"

"I need to find a way to the clock tower. It's the highest point on the island," was her answer as she walked out of the doorway and into the foyer again.

Kidd just scoffed, turning his attention back towards the fire and he was just going to let her leave, but then he starting to feel like she was going to do something ungodly stupid, forcing him into the mix. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, pushing himself up into a standing position and followed after her. "I thought it had to be the natural highest point on the island." He commented, catching up to her.

"It doesn't matter." She gritted through her teeth, and Kidd grinned at seeing the irritated summoner mage. "Let's just hurry and get to the top," but before Gabriella could even place the heel of her foot on the first step, Kidd pulled her back roughly by the strap around her neck from her shirt.

"I'll lead the way." He said, placing her behind him with a mild glare.

"Does it really matter?" She questioned him sharply, but then shut her mouth when he whipped around to scowl at her.

"Yes." He bluntly said, and then turned towards the stairs again.

The steps creaked under the pressure of their boots as they climbed the stairs. That was the only sound, and Kidd found it to be annoying; for some reason 'creaking' noises really ticked of his nerves, but than again, a lot of sounds did, like when the summoner mage decided to speak up again.

"Aren't you freezing?" she questioned through easy to hear chattering teeth.

"No." he bluntly said without turning around, his body was immune to weather changes, that's why he never wore a shirt.

"You're a monster." She mumbled.

Kidd just grunted, indifferent with the statement and kept on walking.

She was silent after that, making Kidd's mood more on a happy note, but then he heard the sound of a door opening and looked over his shoulder, seeing the summoner mage slowly walking into a room. "Did you find it?" he called out, watching her disappear into a doorway.

"No, but I found something else." She said slowly, her voice faint sounding.

Kidd stared at the empty doorway and walked over, thinking that she actually found something good, but no, she didn't. "It's just a closet." Kidd scoffed, rolling his eyes at the lone piece of furniture in the room.

"No, it's a _wardrobe_." She corrected, curling her fingers around the handle and slowly opened it.

There was a small flutter of moths that escaped the small space along with dead ones that tumbled down with the bouncing of moth balls rolling away, and the summoner mage swatted moths away from her view and there inside was ten, thick, fur coats hung neatly on hangers inside. They all looked brand new, even with dust hanging from the fibers of hair and tiny holes from what a small amount of moths could do. She reached out a hand, her fingers looking like they were tempted to brush against one of the many furs, and upon touching it with her finger tips, she wrapped all the coats in her arms pulling them out smoothly. Then with a twist of her heel, she landed face down in a pile of fur coats on the floor with a happy yelp.

"What the fuck?" Kidd cursed in an irritated voice as he watched her fall to the ground with a mess of coat bundled in his arms.

She mumbled something, but Kidd couldn't hear it through all the fur.

He blinked. "What?"

She lifted her head and he saw a happy smile on her. "I said it's so warm!" She sighed in relief, burying herself into the coats.

Kidd stared at her in annoyance. "You look ridiculous."

"So?" She looked up, staring at him blankly. "I don't care, neither should you, right?"

Kidd just scowled on her, but his angry look turned into confusion when she asked an...unexpected question.

"Can I keep one?"

"What?" Kidd looked at her oddly.

"I said: ca—"

"I heard you the first time." Kidd cut her off sharply and then glared. "Why do you want one?"

"Because its warm." She giggled girlishly,

_That_ sound made him want _and_ almost gag. "_No_."

The smile on her face melted into a blank stare again. "Is it because you are the only one allowed to have a cool coat?" She asked.

Kidd just glared down at her and grabbed a hold of the small amount of fabric that was the strap of her shirt, pulling her upwards. "Come on, let's just fine the stupid clock tower door." He grumbled, but she didn't take a liking to being pulled away from the warm coats.

"_No!_" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck, throwing Kidd off for at the reaction.

He stood there for a second, taking in the fact that her arms were around him, then the next thing he knew was his balance shifted and he was starting to tumble forward with the summoner mage clinging to his neck. A grunt and a yelp followed after the two fell into the pile, coats flying into the air from the amount of pressure coming down on them. Kidd shrugged off a coat from his head and scowled down at the summoner mage from under him, but she ignored him. Her arms moved, one leaving his neck so she could gently cough from dust laced in the coat's fur while the other allowed her palm to press against the skin of his neck.

Now, Kidd was slightly confused. Was she trying to get him to let go, or was she just reacting on instinct? And if it was the second, why the hell was it an _instinct? _The thought turned over and over in his mind and he couldn't think of anything, so he sneered at her, but then his attention was forced away from her and at the doorway as a voice cleared its throat.

"Ahem." Killer coughed as he stood there, staring down at them through his mask.

"It's not what you think." Kidd instantly snapped, seeing the situation at hand since he was shirtless and on top of the summoner mage who Killer couldn't see except for her head. It painted the _wrong_ picture.

"Right," was Killer's only response.

Kidd stood up violently, tossing the coat from his back and the summoner mage's hand slipped from gently gripping the side of his neck. "See look, I'm still dressed, and so is she." He pointed to Gabriella sitting up from the pile in all her clothes with a confused look on her face.

The amount of old dust, and having a large man collapse on her, seemed to be affecting her senses slightly and she didn't understand what was going on, not that anyone noticed.

"Uh huh. I see." Killer nodded slowly, but there was a small crack in his voice. "I'll just leave you two alone." The crack in his voice was back as the masked blonde turned, waving a dismissing hand while he walked away and disappeared down the hallway.

Kidd processed what his first-mate and long time friend had just said. He knew for a fact that the crack in his voice was a muffled laugh, and Killer was the only one that could get away with laughing at Kidd, and also the only one that could get away with poking fun in the red head's side without being killed or beaten close to dead. Though it didn't happen often, especially in public, there were still times that it did. So, since Killer could get away with certain things, so could Kidd; and he was the only one that could get away with saying, which turned out to be more like a snarl, to the masked blonde: "_Get back here you fucking little blonde pansy_."

* * *

><p>Now, I don't know if Kidd would <em>ever<em> call Killer a pansy, but it was just something I thought would be funny. If you don't like it, then, I'm sorry, but I'm not planning to have Kidd call our favorite blonde (besides Sanji, if you like him) a _pansy_ all the time. So don't worry.


	8. Chapter 8: Seriously up there?

Next chapter is here, though its a bit late on my standards since I make deadlines for myself. My excuse: Assassin's Creed was calling me.

**Edited: Assassin's Creed! Bull, that's my game, Jawn! So, anyway. This is my special arc, why? Only Zelda fans will see it, if you're not one, then, oh well. You're out of the loop...though I explain it at the end... :)**

So, now that this chapter is here, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Seriously up there?<p>

Gabriella gawked, her jaw hanging open and her neck craned back so far just so she could stare up at the tip of the mountain that belonged to the new island they docked at. She was speechless for a long moment, her golden eyes growing large just because of one iddy-bitty reason, though it was a big one in reality, and that reason so happened to be at the top of the tall mountain before. She just couldn't believe something like _that_ was there. "You have _got_ to be kidding me." She finally spoke, her eyes still glued to the mountain's top.

"Hard to believe isn't it, eh?" Bedros was the one that answered her, tipping his hat back to gaze at the shuttering movement perched high on the mountain's hazy looking peek.

"Are you sure it's _that?_" She asked, glancing at the stone devil from the corner of her eyes.

"I'm pretty damn sure." Bedros replied with a low whistle as the movement grew larger then slowly settled down.

"Are you_ positive?_" She asked again. "I may be no pryomancer, but _that_ just can't be what I think it is," she explained, pointing a finger in the direction of the movement.

"It is." Bedros sighed, rolling his eyes is mild annoyance at her skepticism. "So you're just gonna have to deal with it."

That wasn't something she wanted to talk about at the moment, so she continued asking questions. "But how could it have even gotten here?"

"I don't know?" Bedros snapped in irritation. "_I'm not a pryomancer_." He mimicked mockingly in a high pitched voice then turned on the heel of his boot, starting to walk along the dock and back to the ship in annoyance before she could ask him anymore questions.

Gabriella huffed at the stone devil's rudeness, but shrugged it off to stare back up at the moving mountain top. "Seriously..."

Still, she couldn't believe something like _that _was there, and what was worse was that she _had_ to go up to the mountains top since it was the tallest point on the island obviously, but she couldn't just go up there unarmed. She needed her spear back, but that was currently in Kidd's quarter's because he took that away months ago. Sure, she had her magic, but something could always go wrong and magic could be canceled, especially with_ that_ around. A thing like _that_ had more magical power than her any day, though it did depend on the color; red was the strongest and white was the weakest, but it was hard to tell what color it was. It looked grey from where she was, and that didn't help her at all.

She sighed thickly, no matter the color, she still needed her spear back; she didn't want to be completely helpless going up there, but going alone still wouldn't help her either, even with her spear. She could get Bedros to come with her...though just the two of them still couldn't stand up against something like _that_. So there was only one other solution to this problem, and it wasn't going to be easy to get it to work, she knew that for a fact.

She sighed thickly again, looking down at the tops of her boots, building up the courage to look for..._him_, and then she looked up, scanning the crowds around the docks. She looked over all the heads of the Kidd Pirate crew lingering around on the dock as they carried crates to and from the ship, but then her eyes locked onto the head of blazing red hair at the end of the docks. She took a deep breath and started to push forward through the crew until she got to the pirate captain along with his first mate that were talking by the entrance into the small rundown and beaten up town. She took another deep breath in and out, she started to slowly close the gap between her and Kidd. Then, once behind him, she gently grabbed his coat's sleeve to gain his attention.

Kidd slowly turned around, so slow that is was painful for her to wait and watch the scowl on his face appear; he did not look happy at all. "_What?_"

Gabriella paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, shifting back and forth on her feet. She really wasn't on good terms with him, ever since the whole _falling-in-a-pile-of-coats_ thing. He was more cruel than usual, believe it or not, to her; he almost came close to sending her to the infirmary with a coma on more than one occasion. Though the most she ever got was a bruise the size of his fist on her skin.

"_What?_" The sharp irritation in his voice brought her back to reality.

She still hesitated answering him, looking down at where her fingers were gently curled around the fur of his coat. Her brows furrowed; why didn't he pull back yet? She shook her head lightly, not important right now. "Can I have my spear back?" She mumbled, forcing him to actually lean in closer so he could hear her.

"Why?" He asked, his glare narrowing, but all she did in response to the question was point with her finger to the mountain top. Kidd rolled his eyes at her silence, but it looked like he was going to humor himself and look up where she was pointing, and only a second after his eyes settled into place did the mountain top shutter with movement. "What the _fuck_ am I looking at?" He demanded, staring up at the thing.

"A dragon," there was no hesitation in her response.

Kidd snapped his head back in her direction with a dumbfounded look plastered on his face. "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"That's what I said." She chuckled dryly.

Kidd ignored her humor by not commenting on it, but he still glared and questioned: "Do you plan on _killing_ that thing?"

"Well I might need to...it's on the highest point." She answered, looking back down at her fingers still clutching Kidd's sleeve; he still didn't pull away; weird.

"There's no way you can kill _that_ with that little spear of your's." Kidd bluntly stated, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the mountain top.

"Well..." She dragged out the word in a suggestive manor, hoping he would catch.

Kidd did, and he didn't like it. "No fucking way am I going up there with you." He declared, ripping her grip from his sleeve, finally.

Gabriella reached out again though, grabbing his arm with both hands to make sure he didn't get away. "Isn't it the captain's job to look out for his crew members?"

Kidd stopped for a second and stared at her. "Are you actually admitting you're apart of my crew now?" He mused, a smirk crossing his lips

Gabriella looked away from him, feeling heat rising in her cheeks. "I...never said I wasn't." She answered quietly.

Kidd's grin grew, turning smug when he heard the answer. "Good to hear," he leaned over, whispering into her ear. "But," he continued. "I don't get involved with my crew's..._personal_ problems." He added, peeling her hands away from his arm and started to walk away.

Gabriella couldn't leave it at that though, she would admit she needed help, wasn't that enough for him? Obviously not, but she couldn't take no for an answer, so she did the only thing her mind could think of. She went after him, cutting into his path to make him stop and she stood before him. She ignored the scowl on his face and stood on her tippy-toes, grabbing the collar of his coat and brought her lips close to his ear. She felt more heat than ever before rising to her cheeks when he saw the expression of shock on his face of what she did and also the close corridors they were in; from the outside it looked like they were...

She shook her head of the thought and went back to what would hopefully change his mind, whispering the words softly into his ear.

Kidd was tense, she could feel the stiffness forming in his muscles as her chest pressed against his, and she knew she was going to get another bruise the size of his fist times two for this, but luckily, what she said made his eyes widen. He chuckled darkly at the words, his breath brushing against the skin of her cheek in an uncomfortable way that made her shutter. Then she felt his hands wrap around her wrists, gripping them tightly as he pulled her away. Then turned to Killer who was standing off quietly to the side. "Killer," he said the masked blonde's name in amusement. "Get her spear." Kidd ordered, then added. "And get Bedros along the way, then meet us at the mountain's base."

Killer stood there for a second; taking in the conversation, actions, and then the order he received. Then slowly, he nodded his head and turned back to the ship, wondering what the summoner mage had said to his captain.

* * *

><p>The caves were narrow and steep, each step causing crumbs of rock to fall over head on the four walking carefully up slope. Kidd grumbled as he led the other three through the passage ways. The tunnels all forked off into different directions with torches lighting the way, and it wasn't a surprise that the pirates found torches decorating the cavern walls since the villagers said that someone was here.<p>

When they had started to head up the mountain's path that led to the mines hidden within, the villagers came to warn them, surprisingly since they were pirates, about that the deadly red dragon that lived on top. Kidd noted that the summoner mage's and stone devil's faces paled at that, but he ignored it and dully listened to what the villagers had to say. They said the dragon was merciless when people entered its domain, many rumors of cruel deaths have been recorded of the ones that actually made it back, and the dragon even had minions that could be sent out to kill all that passed into its territory. The town was proof, since it showed the wrath of the dragon when the villagers tried one too many times to get rid of it.

So now, not only did Kidd have to deal with a dragon, but also minions. If it wasn't for what Gabriella promised—

His thoughts were stopped short when a roar shook the very ground and more pebbles began to fall from the ceiling, followed by larger rocks. Kidd saw the danger coming and his eyes darted to see that the summoner mage wasn't going to be quick enough to make it. He growled, the sparking sound of his devil fruit powers being drowned out by falling rocks, but still had the same effect when he felt the chain that held the spear's handle on her back firmly in his hand. He also saw that Killer grabbed the stone devil's shirt just in time to pull him away from being crushed under a pile of rocks that split the group in two.

Gabriella started to cough violently from the dust infecting her lungs, leaning against him in support. "What happened?" She wheezed.

"Isn't it obvious." Kidd growled, the blade of her spear getting a bit too close to his face for comfort and he pushed her away, ignoring her stumble and also trip as he started digging through his pockets.

Gabriella slowly stopped her coughing fit, leaning against a wall for support that had also broken her fall, non too gently, and then she glanced up to see what he was doing and looked curiously at what he pulled out of his pocket. "What's that?" She asked, stepping closer to the little animal in his hand.

"It's a mini den-den mushi." Kidd told her, ignoring the fact that he thought it was weird that she didn't know what one was, and started to dial a number.

Gabriella smiled sweetly, reaching out her fingers to touch the little snail. "Cute."

A nerve was snapped in Kidd's mind and jerked his hand away from her reach and shot her a sharp glare of irritation. "_Don't touch it._" He snarled.

She looked at him in blank confusion, but then she huffed childishly, turning her head to the side as she crossed her arms.

Kidd just rolled his eyes at her and waited for the other end of his call to pick up.

"_Hello_?" He heard Killer's voice.

"You okay?" It was an obvious question, but still needed to be asked.

"_Yeah, so is Bedros._"

"_What is that, eh? Is it a den-den-mushi?_" Kidd heard the stone devil speak up.

"_Don't touch it._"

"_Eh, touchy much? It's just a piece of escargot._"

"_Don't say—_" Killer's voice was cut off by the sound of static.

Kidd sighed in frustration and hung up the mini den-den mushi before replacing it back in his pocket. He knew that it would be a while before Killer could call him back now.

"So…" Gabriella drew out slowly. "What do we do now that we're separated?"

"We're going to the same place. So just head up." Kidd answered, turning away from the pile of rocks blocking him off from his first mate, and continued up the slope.

* * *

><p>Killer looked down at the quivering snail shell in his hand and shook his head in irritation at that the stone devil. "You don't say that in front of a snail, you idiot."<p>

"How was I suppose to know that it would freak out." Bedros shrugged and put his hands up in defense.

"It's a_ snail_, ass hole." Killer snapped.

"Eh?" Bedros's eyebrow raised in interest, and he mused: "Getting a bit feisty now, aren't we?"

"Well, it's your fault that we can't contact Kidd for a few hours now." Killer scoffed.

"And why's that?"

"Because _this,_" Killer shoved the shaking snail shell in the stone devil's face. "Is too scared to come out, and it will take hours for it to come back out, thus leading to the fact that this is your fault that we can't contact Kidd."

"Someone is being a bit of a drama queen." Bedros blurted out, earning him a sharp hit in the head from the masked blonde.

"Shut up." Killer said emotionlessly as he put the scared den-den mushi back in his pocket. "At least we know we need to head up. So let's back track until we get onto a path that slopes up."

"Aye, aye, sir." Bedros mocked with a lazily salute, earning him another hit on the head. "Ouch…"

Killer decided to ignore the stone devil for the time being and continue to walk away. He heard rushed foot steps behind him as Bedros quickly recovered and caught up. It took the masked man a few tries to find a path that would lead them upward since he had to go down a couple of times just to get them going up hill again. They were quiet for the most part, until Bedros shuttered violently.

"_Errga._" The stone devil chattered through his teeth as a chill ran up his body him from head to toe and back again.

Killer stopped and turned to look over his shoulder silently.

"Somethin' feels wrong 'bout this place..." Bedros trailed off, starting to rub his arms as if he were trying to cast out a cold breeze that wasn't present.

"There's a dragon on top of a mountain. How wrong can it get." Killer bluntly said with disinterest and turned back up slope.

"I'm serious though." Bedros glared from behind the shadow of his hat.

Killer just ignored him and continued to hike.

"_Hey!_" Bedros shouted, jogging to keep up the pace with the blonde masked man, but then the stone devil found himself falling down his back on the ground. "Why'd you stop?" He grumbled, sitting up to rub the sore on his nose that started to bloom when he ran into the back on the masked blonde.

"We're at the top," was all Killer said.

"Really?" Bedros mused questioningly, pushing away from the ground and looked up, seeing the crystal blue sky of day framed by the rocks of the mountain's peek. "How did we beat Kidd and Abbie?"

Killer put a hand over the devil's mouth, ordering a silent command to stay quiet, but then he tilted his head in curiosity. "_Abbie?_"

The stone devil pushed the hand away from his mouth. "Her name is too long, so I shortened it."

Killer just stared at him, but shook his head to move the subject along. "Whatever, just stay quiet."

"Dragon's are sound sleepers. It shouldn't wake up if we don't get too close." Bedros informed him.

"I don't mean the dragon." Killer clarified.

Bedros blinked. "Wait, what?"

Killer put a hand to the stone devil's mouth again as his voice started to rise in pitch. When he thought that Bedros understood what the action meant, he removed his hand and waved for the stone devil to follow quietly behind him until they reached a boulder that would cover them from the person Killer saw in the room.

Bedros slowly peeked over the edge of the rock, but then shot down with a look of terror in his red eyes. "Oh, _shit!_" He hissed the curse in a soft tone for only Killer to hear.

"What is it?" Killer questioned him in a low voice.

"That…" Bedros pointed to the rock behind him. "Over there, isn't just any person."

"Then who is it?" Killer humored dryly.

"It's a grandmaster pryomancer." Bedros said in a shaky voice, putting his hands over his face like he was trying to hide.

"How can you tell?" Killer questioned, slightly interested in the topic.

"Because he has a _mask_, a _mask!_" Bedros nearly cried, his eyes wide with fear.

Killer looked over the boulder's edge and saw that a golden mask was hanging from the mage's belt, then he looked down at the stone devil again.

"Oh man, oh man, we are in deep shit now," Bedros said, his hands running down his cheeks, pulling at the skin. "There is _no_ way that us two can get beat a person like him…"

"Why not?" Killer asked, looking over the boulder again to get a better glimpse of the older man dressed in deep red robes. "He looks like he'll break easily."

Bedros just gawked in disbelieve. "I don't know how it works here, but with age, where me and Abbie are from, means _everything_. The older you are, the stronger you are. That guy will totally kick our asses if we don't have the other two with us." Then he paused. "Where are they anyway? They should be here by now..."

"There are probably lost," was Killer's answer.

* * *

><p>And Killer was right.<p>

"Where the hell are we?" Kidd growled, scanning the large looking cavern they had walked into.

"Well…" Gabriella said slowly. "We're inside a mountain."

Kidd looked down at her with dangerously narrowed eyes. "You got us lost, didn't you?"

"We aren't lost…just misplaced." She said simply as she turned on her heel in a new direction.

Kidd just pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Last time I ever believe she can track that stupid devil…" he grumbled quietly to himself.

* * *

><p>"This is bullshit." Bedros grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.<p>

Killer just shrugged his shoulders. "We'll just have to wait then."

"Obviously." Bedros rolled his eyes.

"**_Get back to work!_**" A rough voice roared through the air around the two hidden behind the rock.

"Oh _shit!_" Bedros yelped at the sudden pierce to his ears.

Killer remained calm and looked silently over the edge of the rock again and tilted his masked head in confusion. "Are those…_kids?_"

"What?" Bedros questioned the masked blonde harshly with confusion and looked over the boulder's edge with him.

The devil squinted his eyes, straining to see what the masked blonde did from across the large open area of the mountain's peek. First he saw the dragon, which was a given. It was sound asleep, curled up like a kitten only with a large red scaly body rather than a small furry one. Then there was the man dressed in red robes, and all around him were tanned children with terrified blood colored eyes. "It can't be…" The look of confusion on his face quickly changed to horror.

"What can't be?" Killer glanced at him through his mask. "People do this all the time to children. They are a form of cheap labor."

"I know that, but that's not the point!" Bedros snapped at the masked blonde with a dangerous glare and deadly glint in his eyes.

Killer was taken back for a second by the look he had never seen on the stone devil's face. "Do you know who those kids are?"

"Of course I do." Bedros's tone was low and harsh. "Those are stone devils. Just like me."

"Stone devils?" Killer repeated in confusion. "From the little knowledge that I have on magic, I think a pryomancer, or a fire mage, shouldn't be able to summon devils unless you have some weird fire power we don't know about."

"I don't have fire magic." Bedros replied with a small snarl. "But if there are devils here that means that there is another summoner mage here."

"So if that mage isn't here—" Killer started.

"Then Kidd and Abbie are bound to find that mage first." Bedros finished.

"Well, there isn't much we can do now is there since you said we can't beat a dragon and grandmaster mage." Killer said, lounging back to wait for Kidd.

"Are you kidding me?" Bedros looked are him with a dumbfounded glare. "Of course we are going to do something. Those are my people! My siblings!"

"I'm not helping you with your _personal_ problems." Killer crossed his arms over his chest.

Bedros continued to glare at the masked blonde, but then something popped into his mind about the old legends of dragons. "But didn't you know," he started to said smoothly with a smirk, making Killer turn his masked head warily at the stone devil. "That all dragons have a _hoard_."

"Hoard?" Killer tilted his head in interest.

"You know, piles and piles of gold." Bedros wrapped an arm around the masked blonde's shoulder and did a swiping monition across the air with his other.

Killer scoffed and pushed the arm invading his personal space away. "Then where is it?"

Bedros pointed to the sleeping dragon. "In there."

Killer looked over at the dragon then back to the stone devil.

"What better hiding place then inside yourself." Bedros mused with a small smile.

Killer paused and thought for a moment, it made sense; in a weird kind of way. "Alright, if you say so."

Bedros nodded, then looked back over the top of the rock. "Hmm, you good with those weapons of yours?"

"I would think so." Killer said flatly.

"Are you fast, too?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm…" Bedros hummed again. "Alright." He nodded to himself then turned back to the masked blonde. "Here's the plan," and he leaned in close to the masked man, whispering the details of the plan fully.

Killer nodded his head silently as the stone devil continued on with his explanation. When the last words were said, the two gave each other one last final nod before Bedros sprang into action. The stone devil jumped out from behind the rock and pulled out one of the pistols hanging from his belt, sending off the bullet to its target: the old fire mage.

The fire mage reacted instantly to the sound coming from behind him, and a brilliant red light engulfed his hands, causing a wall of fire to swarm around him to block the deadly shots. "Ah…" The fire mage drew out slowly with an amused look in his old eyes when he turned to see a scowling Bedros. "It seems that a larger stone devil has come to save the smaller ones."

"Damn right you old bastard, now let them go!" Bedros pointed the muzzle of his pistol at the old mage's head.

The old fire mage simply chuckled deeply at the sight.

"Watch out, big brother!" A smaller voice cried from where the group of cowering stone devil children huddled together.

Bedros took a small second to glance at the children, but when he looked back at the fire mage, he saw the red fire around the old mage's hands again as a single fist was put to his mouth. Then the old mage look in a large breath of air, puffing out his chest and release the hold, making flames emerge, and engulf the stone devil.

* * *

><p>Cliffhanger! I think...<p>

So I felt that I need something really entertaining since the last couple of chapters were a bit boring with indroduction of characters and building relationships, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.

So I came up with this idea because of Zelda; those of you who are fans know in windwaker there is a dragon on top of a mountain, well its more of a volcano. And that's really all I based this off of, but I give the dragon on the mountain top idea to it's rightful owners.

So that's it, until next time.


	9. Chapter 9: Diamonds

Since my posting schedule was all messed up, I'm posting the next chapter a bit earlier, and like always, I hope you enjoy it.

**Edited: 9 done, 1 more to go. Well, I think I'm going to do chapter 11, too. And the rest of the story as well. Though it will be more to get mistakes I made rather than editing the whole freaking chapter. This takes a lot of time people.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 9: Diamonds?<p>

"Do you seriously have _any_ idea where the fuck you are going?" Kidd snarled, grounding his teeth together as he saw the _same_ odd-shaped outcrop of rock that looked like a crescent moon. He swore they have been walking around in the same exact place for hours now, at it was really starting to tick him off.

When he spoke, the summoner mage started to look from left to right in the large cavern they were walking, the light dim making it almost impossible to see. She paused as her golden eyes fell on the same rock formation he was glaring at in the low lighting, and she started to scratch her cheek nervously. "I'll figure something out…so, don't worry…" She reassured, turning around to send him a small sheepish smile to ease him.

The scowl on Kidd's face did not lighten up, if anything it just got worse.

"Um…well…" Gabriella stammered, avoiding his harsh stare and turned away anxiously to continue her search for a door, or anything that would please the over boiled captain. "Maybe…maybe…" She stuttered, looking back and forth more frantically as she felt his eyes boring into the back of her head with red-heated fury. "Maybe…maybe, you should lead." The summoner mage muttered softly in defeat, hanging her head low with shame raining down on her mood.

Kidd scoffed in botheration and pushed her roughly out of his way, taking the lead once more in the front, where he belonged because she had no idea where the fuck she was going. Last time he would ever step down from his role of leading. Straining to see under the dim light, Kidd walked calmly passed boulders and rocks find some other way out, making sure he stayed as far away as possible from the moon crescent rock that they already passed three times, or more, he had no idea. As he continued to walk along, the craven slowly started to gain light and the narrowness of the space grew larger and wider until he found another passage way glowing with orange and yellow lit torches hanging in rusted black holders nailed to the walls. Even in his angered state, Kidd glanced over his shoulder to give the summoner mage a smug grin, earning him a glare in return, but he easily ignored that.

He continued down the newly found tunnel, grabbing a torch from one of the holders, just in case they ran into another dark spot like the last. The shuffling of feet reached his ears. It wasn't the sound of the summoner mage since she was sulkily dragging her feet along the ground, and that made him stop in his tracks, thus forcing Gabriella to bump into his back. He heard her gasp, and he whipped around, sending her a _shut-up_ look before she could even get a word out. Then he turned back to the tunnel, listening.

At first, the shuffling had stopped when he did, but when he moved the torch around from right to left, the shuffling continued again as if trying to hide from the light and trying to stay in the shadows out of sight. His brows furrowed together, it was strange.

The summoner mage walked up beside him, and he noted that she hung close to his side as she glanced up at him curiously on why he was moving the torch back and forth, but then she picked up on the sound. "Do you think it's the dragon's minions?" She whispered, her hand going up smoothly to her shoulder, readying herself to draw her spear if need be.

"Maybe." Kidd answered, though he had no worthily idea if it was right or not; he didn't know what dragon minions were, much less looked like. Then he saw something flicker in the corner of his eyes, and he narrowed them against the darkness being cast from the torch when he thought he saw an outline of a body glance against the small light. "But the villagers said the minions kill the people that come in the mountain, not run away from them," he noted.

She looked up at him with interest, a brow rising slightly. "How do you know they're running away?"

"I've dealt with people running away from me a lot. I know the movements." Kidd stated and continued on forward, making the shuffling pick up speed once more in front of him.

"So if it's not the dragon's minions, then what is it…?" Gabriella questioned as the shuffling started to die down again then disappear completely.

"Is there a difference?" Kidd looked back over his shoulder at her. "It's all the same thing probably."

"Not true." Gabriella corrected him shortly then explained when she saw the look on his face. "A dragon's minions are goblins, and goblins are a violent race of creatures that are easy to manipulate. So, if it were the dragon's minions, then we would be overrun with goblins, not having them run away from us." She informed in a factual way.

"Goblins?" The word rolled off his tongue in a confused manor. "Like Musket?"

"Nope," She corrected again, shaking her head. "Musket is actually a type of _devil_ goblin, which is completely different from a regular goblin."

Kidd really didn't care about the difference; a goblin was a goblin in his mind, but he decided to humor himself by asking why; it could help him in the future, maybe. "How so?"

"Because Musket can actually use magic unlike a regular goblin can," she said. "Normal goblins are just brute force with little thinking space and Musket has more brain then a hundred goblins combined." She stated, crossing her arms with air of arrogance and a smug grin spread on her lips.

Kidd did _not_ like that type of attitude. "They all sound stupid to me." He replied, popping her gloating bubble with his sharp blunt words and the summoner mage turned to glare at him with narrowly. He ignored her easily though and just continued to walk through the passageway that let out to another large cavern. And he had to admit, he was shocked at what he saw. "What _is_ this place?" Kidd murmured, looking warily around the chamber that looked ready to fall in on him as the seconds ticked by.

He heard Gabriella inhale deeply to say something, but the response from the summoner mage was halted by violent shaking all around them and the creaking of metal followed after.

"The question is…what was _that?_" Gabriella rephrased the question, looking up at the ceiling that spilled rock crumbs all around them.

* * *

><p>The flames swirled around and around the area where the stone devil stood, and Killer took his opening while the old fire mage was focused on Bedros and dashed out from around the boulder to other ones scattered around the opened area of the peek. He still had to keep cover just in case, but with the intense sound of crackling fire engulfing the room into an inferno. It would be hard for the old fire mage to hear him, much less see the speedy masked blonde. Pulling out his scythes, he easily hooked them to his gauntlets and weaved through the rocks for the sleeping dragon curled up on the other side of the peek before the old fire mage could catch up on the plan that he was falling trap to. The flames slowly died down as the old fire mage began to lose his breath and Killer heard a deep snarl after the fire's voice disappeared into a low sizzling.<p>

"So you can actually withstand my fire attacks." The old fire mage seethed in disappointment when he saw the rock coated stone devil after the smoke drifted away from the heated ground.

The stone devil shook the molten rocks from of his skin like a dog does with water and he brushed off ash from his shoulders while smirking smugly at the old fire mage. "Heh, you've been around my younger siblings too much to realize that the older ones can cancel out certain magic. It's how Mother made us."

"_Tch._" The old fire mage's grey eyebrow twitched in irritation from behind the shadow of his hood. "Silence fool, you are still out matched."

Deep chuckles erupted from the stone devil's throat. "That's what you think..." Bedros corrected, tipping his hat up with his finger.

The old fire mage's eyebrows knitted together in annoyed confusion and an angry frown formed deeper creases along his wrinkles, but then his hearing caught onto quick moving heels in the dirt behind him. He snapped his head in the direction just in time to see the masked blonde leap from the cover of rocks into the air and towards his dragon. "_**Wake up, Basilisk!**_" The old fire mage bellowed to the slumbering wyvern behind him.

The dragon slowly regained consciousness, its eyelids opening lazily as it tried to blink away the dust from sleep, but then they snapped open, alert and ready, revealing the black silted eyes surrounded by pools of a glossy golden hue that reflected the image of a man coming towards it with spinning blades. With faster reflexes than Killer would have thought, the dragon stood up and swung its tail around to knock him down, but he was also just as quick.

Killer flipped through the air and as the tail started to close in on him, he stuck out his foot, the sole of his shoe making contact with the scaly skin and he bent his knee, going along with the motion. Then he flipped backwards gracefully in the air, landing on the ground in a skid until he was safely on the ground next to Bedros.

"Well, that didn't go as planned." Bedros huffed with clenched teeth, his grip tightened on the handle of his pistol.

"Ya think." Killer responded dryly, halting the spinning monition of his blades to a quiet, waiting stand still.

"Did you fools _really_ think you could defeat me when I have _this_ on my side." The old fire mage unhooked the golden mask from around his belt and held it high in the air with arrogant glory, letting the rays of light cause glares to bounce toward rocks all around the peek. "You of all people devil, should know that when a mage has their mask, they are unstoppable."

"And you, old man, should know that a devil can always find loopholes." Bedros mocked tauntingly.

"Are you sure you want to taunt him?" Killer asked in a hushed wary tone to the stone devil. "You_ are_ the one that said we can't kill him and he could beat the shit out of us."

"He wouldn't beat the shit out of us." Bedros corrected quietly with a straight face. "He's gonna _kill_ us."

Killer turned around to face the stone devil squarely. "_Not_ going to happen."

"I'm truly sorry, but it _will_ happen." The old fire mage corrected, a smirked forming through the white stubble around his chin and jaws. "I can't let someone like you two walk out alive and risk being found out."

"Found out about what?" Bedros mused curiously, a small smirk starting to spread across his lips when a plan hatched in his mind.

"Like I'll tell you." The old fire mage scoffed, rolling his charcoal colored eyes.

"Well, you're going to kill us anyway, so why not." Bedros said in a suggestive tone with his arms sweeping out widely around him, welcoming the idea to the open space at the table of proposals.

The old fire mage was silent as he placed a hand to his chin, stroking the grey stubble while he pondered quietly to himself. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt since you are going to die."

"_Excellent!_" Bedros clapped his hands together in enthusiasm and the grin widened on his face. "Now please, enlighten us."

"What do you think you're doing?" Killer hissed dangerously through his mask in a whispered voice for only the stone devil to hear.

"Buying time." Bedros whispered back shortly.

"What was that?" The old fire mage demanded harshly as a scowl grew on his face.

"I said: carry on." Bedros lied through his teeth with a sweet smile. "So what are you looking for?"

The old fire mage didn't look like he was buying it, but he continued on anyway and answered the stone devil's question. "Diamonds."

The stone devil's eyes opened wide with shock, but Killer tilted his head in confusion.

"Diamonds?" The masked man asked aloud.

"You can't be serious? Why the hell do you want diamonds for!" Bedros shouted, ignoring the masked blonde and glared at the old fire mage.

"That is something I will never tell, even if you are going to die." The old fire mage bluntly said as he crossed his arms over his chest like a wall.

"So that's why you summoned stone devils here, eh? To do the dirty work." The shocked look in the stone devil's eyes turned angry.

"I didn't summon them, and it wasn't my idea either; it was my partner's." The old fire mage said simply with a gentle, careless shrug. "She said that it would cause less interference with the Marines if we summoned stone devils. I thought using the villagers would be better, but she said the Marines would come investigate if we did."

"I'm pretty sure the Marines would investigate if they got word of a _dragon_ at the top of a mountain." Killer spoke up frankly.

"Yet, we have been here for five months, and the marines have been too scared to come up here because of the dragon. Men of the outside world truly are full of fear these days, or they are just plain stupid." The old fire mage scoffed while he shook his head in disgust, making the two pirates narrow dangerous looking eyes in his direction when they felt that last part was pointed towards them. "They don't know discipline, like I was taught at a young age back at home."

The last few words peeked the masked blonde's curiosity; he, nor anyone else, with the exception of Bedros, knew about the island where mages came from, so the topic was an intriguing one. "Where is your home?" Killer questioned him.

"In the West Blue and that's all you need to know," was the answer.

Killer watched the old fire mage, and could see he wasn't going to be able to get anymore questions out of him. So much for settling the rising peek of interest in his mind.

"So is that everything?" The old fire mage questioned, tapping his forearm with a single finger of impatience.

"Err…" Bedros looked around the peek, trying to get a glimpse of his still lost red headed comrades. "No…?"

"Too bad." The old fire mage bellowed and unhooked his arms from across his chest. "It is time to end this." He proclaimed, lifting his hand in the air and it started to glow the deep shade of red again. "_**Basilisk!**_"

A rumbling came from the dragon's throat and when it opened its mouth, bright flames started to hurl down upon the stone devil and masked blonde.

"Oh, _shit_."

* * *

><p>Kidd stumbled to keep his feet planted firmly where he stood as the ground started to shake violently all around him again, and he grunted when he felt pressure pull him to the side, almost throwing him off balance. "Stop grabbing my arm." Kidd scowled down at the summoner mage gripping to his coat's sleeve in a desperate attempt to stay upright.<p>

"Sorry I can't help it." Gabriella scoffed bitterly with a scowl of her own. "It's kinda—" she frozen when she saw the look in his eyes, then slowly let go of his arm and stepped away.

"Heh." Kidd grunted, grinning at the reaction; maybe that operant conditioning thing _did_ work after all. It just took a few days for it to fully kick in so that she would listen to his orders, and she also doesn't talk back, which was a bonus.

"So…" Gabriella weakly said with a small cough, grabbing his attention. "What do you think all this stuff is for?" The summoner mage moved along the conversation to a new topic as she scanned over all the heavy machinery in the room.

"Probably for mining something." Kidd shrugged his shoulders and started to walk forward again, letting the torch's light bounce off the walls and gleam brightly off metal surfaces he passed. But something seemed off, making his eyes narrow and brow furrow together. "But...this all looks like it was used in the past few days. And I think the village has had problems with the dragon for a few months now."

"How can you tell that someone, or something, was working here not long ago?" She inquired curiously.

Kidd grinned over his shoulder. "I work with metal everyday."

"_Ha, ha_." She laughed sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. "You are just _too_ funny, you know that."

"Never been told that since most people who see me work with metal end up dying." Kidd laughed wickedly, his shoulders rising and falling dramatically with each heavy breath.

"You're a monster." Gabriella stated flatly.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kidd chuckled, letting his laughter die down and left it at that while he reached a dead end, or so he thought it was. He placed the torch in a crevasse formed by two rocks knitted close together then turned his attention back to get a better look at the odd rock surface in front of him. A part of it was smoother than the rest and there seemed to be a crack that outlined a square shape around the smoother looking rock. "I think this is…a door?" He said, unsure of himself as he felt around with his hand and could feel the subtle difference in texture.

"Let me see." Gabriella said, stepping forward, but almost swiped her spear's blade against his cheek.

Kidd scowled, yanking the weapon from her back, twirling it then shoved the blade's head into the ground.

She looked ready to say something, but didn't and just pressed her hand to the _what-was-thought-to-be_ door and the wall, moving it across back and forth to feel the difference. "I guess it is a door," She confirmed, but she didn't sound all too sure about it either. "Let's see if it opens." She said, pushing against the door, huffing as she pressed her full body weight into the wall, trying to get it to budge, but it was like what it was, a wall of rock.

"I think you're going to need a bit more force to get it open, you're too weak." Kidd bluntly told her, though he couldn't help smirking at the amusing sight.

"Then why don't you help me?" She huffed, looking over her shoulder with an icy gaze. "You could use your devil fruit powers with all this metal around."

"Are you mad?" Kidd questioned harshly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Actually, I'm quite sane, thank you every much." She bit out, making Kidd scowl.

She was playing with fire right now, but he would ignore it and enlighten her on the subject. "Then you should realize that this whole place is filled with machinery that supports it, and if it is broken, then the ceiling will come down on us." Kidd informed.

Gabriella just blinked at him then turned her gaze around the room, scanning over the thick beams of iron and steel held up the rocks wishing to be on the floor again. If that wish was granted, then she didn't want to know what would happen, but her thoughts of what would happen never really came clearly. Not because she didn't want to know, but because she felt Kidd's arms brush against hers so that his hands where pressed against the wall on either side of her body.

"Turn around." He ordered.

"Um…excuse me?" She tried to hide the panic rising in her voice at the awkward situation.

"Turn around and push." He didn't hear the panic or he decided to ignore and ordered her again.

"Push…what…?" She looked at him nervously as she shifted back and forth on her feet.

Kidd glared down at her with an overall annoyed expression on his face. "Push the wall, you moron."

"But—"

"Just do it." He demanded coldly.

She hesitated, but did as she was told, obeying his command and turned around to push the wall. It was an _uncomfortable_ position, plus that _uncomfortable_ position wasn't helping in making the door move anymore than when they had started. And she felt Kidd moving closer to her, which was something she didn't like when she couldn't see her back. "Okay," she pushed away from the wall, making Kidd step back, but his arms were still trapping her, and she turned around to face his scowling. "This isn't working, so let's just find another—"

The words she was about to say were cut off suddenly as the door gave away from under Kidd's hands, making the pale muscular man topple forward from his unbalanced weight distribution. There was a sense of déjà vu swimming in the air around them when a grunt and yelp rang through the tunnels as Kidd fell on top of Gabriella, _again_, but Kidd could at least be lucky that no one saw that time.

"Well, well, _well_."

He spoke too soon.

"Isn't this just _precious_." A feminine voice cooed in a mockingly sweet voice that really made Kidd want to gag then choke on his vomit. "Who would have thought that the _dangerous_ and _deadly_ Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd had a soft spot for a little dear mage from Caden's blood line."

Kidd just blinked and stared up at the woman sitting idly atop a rock above him and the only thing he could say was: "What the _fuck_?"

* * *

><p>This <em>'Kidd falling on Gabriella<em>' thing is probably going to be a gag just for giggles.

And I made an attempt of an action scene with Killer, but its small, there will be bigger one in the next chapter, hopefully. Action scenes aren't my strong point, but you have to write them if you want to get better, right?

Also, the whole '_Mother_' thing, totally reminds me of Coraline. But this '_Mother_' isn't evil and wants to steal your eyes to replace them with buttons.

So, hope you liked it!


	10. Chapter 10: The Hoard

So while doing this chapter I realized that making a fighting scene with _two_ people fighting at the same time _and_ when they are also talking to each other is a lot more difficult then I thought. But I tried, all that matters, right?

**Edited: I'm better at action scenes now(I think), so this will be a better action scene(I think). **

Nothing more to say, so on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own plot and OCs.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: The Hoard.<p>

The woman was sitting atop a boulder with her leg crossed over the other, like a smug hooker would do in a bar to either draw in a customer or silently battle against a rival between who had the better looking tanned legs that peeked out. She swung one leg up and down, making the fabric of her long dark aqua coat shift, revealing more of her skin that caused Kidd to stare. The woman chuckled deeply, the thick lines of makeup curving around the shape of her eyes look to be closing in as the deep shade of bronze on her lids lowered when she laughed. Then she used a delicate hand to flick the locks of curly blonde hair away from her chest, showing off a bundle fur that was her collar, and it trailing down framing the skin of her cleavage between the deep v-neck of her robe.

Kidd would have admitted that she was pretty damn good looking, a whore's a whore, but right now, he was too pissed at _that_ whore sitting on the rock above him, reminding him of another smirking moron that got on his nerves. Though, even if he had something to say, he wouldn't have gotten it out because Gabriella was quicker with that sharp tongue of hers.

"You're a summoner mage, too!" She gasped with wide eyes, looking up at the woman with an odd tilt of her head since she was planted under Kidd. "What in the hells _are_ you doing here?"

The woman just chuckled again with elegance as she leaned back on the palms of her hands, a wide red painted smile forming on her lips to show her pearly whites. "Huntin' diamonds of course, sweetie." She said in a sweet tone as she flipped another lock of long blonde hair over a fur laced shoulder.

Gabriella's rage was vivid. "_Diamonds!_" She nearly screeched, causing Kidd to flinch at the tone, but the summoner mage ignored his scowl and produced her own to send towards the woman. "So _you're_ the reason why I couldn't find Bedros!"

Kidd's hairless brows furrowed in confused curiosity at the conversation. He would admit he felt out of the loop here. How diamonds could affect someone's powers was beyond him, but then again, Sea Stone negatively effected devil fruit users along with water. So he really had no room to judge, but he did it anyway, because devil fruit powers were normal to him compared to magic.

"Bingo, darling." The woman smirked a sweet smile.

"Then how can you use _your_ magic!" Gabriella continued to question the woman, her voice getting sharper with rage.

"Because of this, deary." The woman used her fingers to run along the thick chain draped around her neck to the gleaming gold amulet just below her breasts. "You should know that pure enchanted gold can cancel out the effect diamonds have on summoner's magic."

"I know that." Gabriella bit out sharply, a bitter taste forming in the pits of her throat.

"Doesn't seem like it, sweet pea." The woman started to laugh a loud and elegant chuckle at that the summoner mage's face starting to blister red with fury.

Gabriella started to tremble, making Kidd's eyes grow wide. Didn't she know what she was doing, obviously not since she continued and then screamed: "I don't need to use magic to kill an _old hag_ like you!"

The woman's laughter stopped with a sharp intake of breath as a dark shadow crossed her brown eyes. "_I'm_ **_not_** _old!_" The woman fumed in complete hatred at the word, clenching her fists against the rock while she leaned forward to empathize her scowl.

"_Please_." Gabriella scoffed with arrogant skepticism as she rolled her eyes. "I can see through all the _goop_ on your face that you are like _thirty_ something, plus, your hair is _so_ _fake_. There is no way you are a natural blonde with all the _bleach_ in your hair."

The woman flashed her pearly whites in furious rage and her nose flared while fire burned in her eyes as Gabriella smirked triumphantly and Kidd started to bark in laughter. "At least I'm not some _mutt_ with_ traitor's_ blood in my veins!" The woman barked back in seething defense.

The summoner mage's smirk quickly dropped into a dark scowl. "_Why you…_" Gabriella snarled, looking like she was going to burst into flames, and then she exploded violently. So, she started to thrash violently against Kidd's body pinning her to the ground. "I'm gonna _kill _you for saying that!"

Kidd's eyes opened a large fraction in shock and the thought _what-the-__hell__-is-she-doing_ came back to mind quickly, and he flattened his body, pinning the summoner mage harder to the ground to stop her movements under his body. "_Stop it_." He snarled through clenched teeth.

Gabriella looked at him like he was crazy. "_Kidd, she's an enemy!_ We need to take her down, _now!_" She yelled at him, then she started to wiggle her body again for an escape.

The woman's expression relaxed into an entertained facial feature and she started to cackle with a wild grin, forcing tears to form at the corner of her eyes. "_Oh, honey!_ Don't you know what you're doin'?" She questioned, looking down at summoner mage, the flame in her brown eyes replaced with a devious gleam that seemed to twinkle.

Gabriella stopped wiggling, just blinking in confusion up at the woman, unaware of what she was even doing to poor Kidd.

That only made the woman laugh more, and Kidd to scowl furiously, but the old whore continued. "You're turin' him on with all the _grindin'_, sweetie!" The woman cackled louder, grabbing her ribs to hold in her breath. "Who would have thought he would get turned on at a time like _this!_"

"What the _fuck,_" was all Kidd could say. This happened to _all_ men: put a pretty woman against a man's groin then cause friction and _something_ is going to happen. It was like common sense, something that everyone should know, like Gabriella _should_ have known something was going to happen. Then he paused his thoughts; not that he was admitting that Gabriella was pretty or anything; attractive, yes, pretty, no.

A mumbling from the summoner mage tore his attention from the laughing woman and he looked down. If Kidd thought his hair was the reddest natural thing he had seen in awhile then he didn't know _what_ the color on the summoner mage's face was as she tried to desperately hide it. It looked like she _did_ know what would happen, just the fact that she was preoccupied with hating the woman at the moment caused her to forgot or something and she didn't seem too happy about the comment.

And he didn't like the comment either, though he didn't blush like Gabriella did; he was a pirate, he didn't blush. So he decided that he was going to do something to stop the mocking laughter that was heating his temper to the highest degree that just swarmed in his gut, not counting what Gabriella had done. Going against what he said earlier, he used his devil fruit powers to cause the metal beams above the woman to snap.

The woman gasped, ending her laughing fit as she gaped at the rocks just begging to fall on top of her from above.

Kidd growled when he saw that the woman was a bit faster than he thought for her old age.

"You little _bastard_." The woman snarled as she landed on the ground safely in her heels.

Kidd just grunted and, finally, got up off his summoner mage. Why he didn't do it sooner, he had no idea, but he wasn't going to dwell on it now. So he reached out, grabbing the scruff of the summoner mage's robe just above her chest, pulling Gabriella to her feet since she was still lit up like a Christmas light with her hands trying to cover her cheeks.

"Doin' that will only cause the mountain tunnels to cave in, you know." The woman snapped, glaring harshly at him across the way and flashed her clenched fists, letting the same golden glow that Gabriella had when she is about to use magic. "Plus, it seems you've forgotten that I _can_ still use my magic."

The sound of portals ripped through the stale air of the cavern like hands tearing fabric, causing colorful light to pierce through the darkness and make dramatic shadows of horns devils crawl against the floor and walls. They were sickening beasts, tall and thin with grey skin that showed off their bones, making Kidd glare at the sight in disgust. He watched them stalk over, like night cats on the prowl to their prey, and there was no way he was going to be the prey of the devils or anything for that matter. Though he would admit he had trouble with focusing, the roars and growls of the devils blended, mixing together in a way that caused his ears to ring, almost sounding like a single broken record scratching repeatedly against the needle.

But then he thought of the old whore's nagging, and one horned monster fell to the ground in a bloody heap as a gunshot abruptly stopped the scratching noise. The devils looked at Kidd with weapon in hand, forcing them in the line of gun point. The devils weren't happy, the narrow glares of their beady blacks eyes told him that, along with the blood thirsty cries of rage that sprang from their throats after seeing a mere human kill one of their kind so easily and quickly.

They were coming quickly, and he needed all the backup he could get. "Focus." Kidd snapped, nudging his still frozen summoner mage with his shoulder sharply.

Slowly, she took her hands away, and he saw a true look of embarrassment on her features as she bit her lip awkwardly at the situation that was way in the past compared to the new one coming their way, literally.

"_Focus_." Kidd commanded more sharply with a rough edge to his tone as the devils started to charge, advancing towards them by the dozens.

Another gun shot brought her back to the problem in reality rather than the one still running rampage in her mind, her golden eyes snapped open from their glossy state and her hand reached for the staff of her spear, but then in horror, they both realized that it was still sticking in the ground by the hidden doorway. Kidd growled darkly, trying to force the blame on her part, but couldn't do so since it was...his. He shook that off mentally and used his devil fruit powers quickly, the spear shuttering as it was pulled from the ground and then in his hands only seconds later.

The slouching of dirt behind him made him turn, cocking his revolver and pulling the trigger on the devil that was about ready to bite his head off. The blood splattered against the bare skin of his chest, and he side stepped the lifeless body. Then he felt something grab onto his arm and he looked over his shoulder. It was Gabriella, and she was using his arm as a support, allowing her to kick up her legs and then her heel plunged into the thin neck of an other devil. She grunted, twisting her leg and then ripped out her heel, and that's when Kidd saw that she add a small dagger hidden in the heel; looks like they did more than just make her small form look taller.

Then she grabbed the spear from his hand, whirling in the air to cut the head off the another horned devil approaching her, iron liquid gushing from the gash and it rain down on them, coating them in the crimson color.

"Seems you two are pretty good." The woman said dryly from behind her wall of devils, blocking the two off of any chances of hitting or even approaching her. "But it won't be enough to beat me, my dears." She smirked smugly through her red painted lips as more portals tore away to make an entrance for more devils.

Kidd snarled at the words, cocking his revolver again. "We need a plan if we want to kill her and get to the top of the fucking mountain so you can do that stupid crystal crap." He grunted, pulling the trigger on another devil getting too close for comfort, but the summoner mage was more focused on dodging the devils sharp claws about to dig into her skin, forcing her to ignore him while she tried to keep on her toes and avoid slipping on blood sticking to her boots because of the little dagger hidden in the heel. "_Are you listening to me?_" Kidd snapped, pivoting around on his heel with the revolver's muzzle directed at her forehead, and he saw her eyes open wide with something he had never been about to spark in her before: fear. It made him falter for a minute, but then he shook it off, sending the bullet to the true target: the neck the devil towering behind her.

Gabriella shuffled quickly out of the way of the tall and lean body falling down, bumping into his chest, but then she pushed away, turning around as the snarling of another devil coming in close to try and land a hit, and it did. It was just barely, only grazing her side as she dodged, but she ignored the pain, ramming her spear's blade into the devil's gut. There was a shriek of death from the beast, and she grunted, placing a foot on its chest to pull out the blade, and then she jump back with the force to Kidd's side.

He looked down at her, seeing the blood stream over the fabric of her robe and he felt his blood boil. Why? He didn't know, but he used logic and just said it was because she was a member of his crew.

"I have an idea." She whispered to him, turning around gracefully so that their backs bumped together.

"I'm all ears." Kidd grunted through clenched teeth, pulling out his dagger to conserve his ammo and also to place it roughly into the nose of a devil getting close to his personal space. The devil screeched, and he swung the blade still lodged in its nose, forcing his dagger to be freed from the skin as the corpse landed to his side, then he placed his dagger back in its proper spot. Fighting was one of his favorite things to do; the feeling of someone's life in between his fingers, the smell of blood, fire's roasting everything and the sound of screams singing in his ears, but right now, this was a fight he wanted to end quickly. The devils were endless and were really starting to piss him off, along with the stupid old whore of a summoner mage.

"Remember why you wouldn't use your powers on the door?" She huffed the question out with a sharp breathe, dodging talon-like claws aiming for her already damaged ribs then twisted her leg up in the air to swipe the pale grey chest of the monster's skin at the heart with her heel's hidden dagger.

Kidd instantly understood what she meant, and his smile looked more demonic than a true devil, making the actual devils slink back in fear. He held a hand up and a purple stream of sparks gave off from his palm, pulsing down the skin of his arm, pulling the iron and steal away from the mining equipment and support beams around the chamber. The sound of warping metal and rocks crumbling made the wicked grin widened on his lips, showcasing his white teeth and he began to chuckle darkly at what he saw. His eyes scanned over the chaos, metal impaling monster's left and right while rocks from the ceiling tumbled down on others, screams rang heavily through his ears like chorus singing that favorite song he loved to hear when he knew the fight was now in his hands.

"**Kidd!**" Gabriella clung to his arm, pulling him out his state of mind, which was something he didn't want.

"_What?_" He growled, a deep scowl forming on his features as she ruined his moment of pure bliss.

"We need to take cover!" She shouted over the sounds of destruction, yanking on his arm harder, trying to guide him to the wall of the cavern for shelter from the rumbling rocks smashing to the ground with pounding _thumps _and _cracks_.

Kidd allowed her to pull and he just trailed behind as she tugged him to a boulder-like tent to shield them from the stones of falling earth, then something made him jerk away and look up at the unsoundly crack above him. "What the _hell_ was _that_?"

Gabriella jerked him back, forcing his planted feet to uproot and ram into her body, almost making them fall to the ground again, but luckily there was a wall there and Gabriella was only flattened against the wall and Kidd's chest instead of the ground, which was _totally_ different.

A piercing crash shook the floor and Kidd snapped his head back around again, blinking dumbfounded at the bloody red dragon growling with a deep note from its throat in pain as it struggled to breath while lying on the torn up ground. The dragon tried to lift its head, but failed miserably as its neck gave way from under it, rolling like a wave back to the ground with gravity. Moaning with a deep roar of burning pain, the dragon's scaly and horn covered brows twitched while glossy golden eyes staring with agony at Kidd.

Kidd decided to put it out of misery by sending some metal through its head. Random act of kindness for the year: _check_.

"Stupid red headed brats…" The woman mumbled as she pulled herself up to the top of a rock pile that almost buried her alive if it wasn't for her summoned minions.

"**Hebe!**" A gruff voice shouted with a sharp edge, and Kidd glanced up to see an old man dressed in red robes covered in blood. "**Take us back!**"

The woman, Hebe, looked up at the old man with wide eyes. "But—!"

"**_Now!_**" The old man scowled.

Hebe grumbled something and used her magic; the golden color swarming around her body and then engulfed it in the brilliant colored light until it disappeared into nothing.

"Where'd they go?" Kidd looked up curiously between where the old man was and then Hebe.

"I don't know, but at least its over." Gabriella gently pressed her hand against his bare chest to get a bit of distance so she could rub her sore nose. "God…you're like a freakin' rock."

Kidd just ignored her as his eyes scanned over the bloody, red scaled dragon before him with wide gold eyes. He smirked; remembering what the summoner had told him earlier that day.

"Kidd?"

The red head looked up and saw his first-mate. "Killer? Did you do _this?_" Kidd asked, jerking his head towards the corpse.

"I had help."

"Bedros?"

"Plus twenty."

"Excuse me?" Kidd raised an eyebrow in confusion, but his question was answered when he saw Bedros plus twenty or more children with the same glowing red eyes that stood out against sun kissed skin were crowded around him. "…" There were no words to say that, so he moved the topic along. "Just get down here."

"I gotta get my siblings home." Bedros called down, and before Kidd could question about how big his family was, the stone devil disappeared along with the children.

Killer nodded his masked head, and jumped with grace from rock to cliff until he was firmly on the ground.

Kidd nodded shortly to his first-mate as Killer stood up from his couched landing postion, and then turned back to the summoner mage still nursing her red nose. "Now, tell me there this gold is that you promised me." He demanded, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the dead beast.

"How did you know about the gold?" Killer questioned, tilting his head questioningly while walking slowly over out-cropped rocks that made an uneven flooring.

"She told me." Kidd answered, turning to his first-mate and then jerked his thumb away from the dragon and to Gabriella. "Why do you think we even came here?"

"I thought she promised you sex." Killer bluntly said like it was the only reason he could think up that would make Kidd agree to come.

Kidd gawked slightly as his jaw went slack from the words staining his ears.

"_What!_" Gabriella shrieked, her voice rising high in pitch as her face light up the color of cherry tomatoes and her hands crawled back to her face with fingers twitching with an embarrassed sting.

"Ignore him and tell me where the gold is." Kidd barked, glaring at her and tried to break the embarrassed, unfocused silence that would come over his summoner mage again.

"I—it's in the dragon…" she said in a soft voice while uncovering her cheeks slowly, but still avoided looking at him.

"Come again?" Kidd looked at her skeptically, a scowl forming when he felt she just flat out lied to him.

"It's true." Killer interjected into the conversation to calm down Kidd before he exploded on Gabriella for nothing. "Bedros told me the same thing."

"And should you really believe a devil?" Kidd glanced at his first-mate.

Killer was silent.

"Open it up to see for yourself." Gabriella waved a hand towards the dragon's corpse. "It's there, trust me."

Kidd decided to humor himself on what his summoner mage said and stalked over to the paled skinned stomach of the dead dragon, pulling out the dagger placed in the strap across his chest then slit the stomach open. He was expecting blood to flow from the fresh corpse, but instead of the iron liquid, a glowing yellow light gleamed past the open skin. Curiosity rising in the meter of the red head's interest, he pulled the slit open further with his fingers curled around the edges on thin skin and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"You're kidding me." Kidd blinked in shock; though not upset at the fact that piles of gold were towering around the rib cage of the dead dragon rather than organs, it was unbelievable that gold had replaced everything. He stepped into the newly found golden cavern and kneeled down to eye the pile of glittering gold and deep shades of emeralds and sapphires with rubies thrown into the mix. "I feel like I just entered heaven." Kidd grinned deviously as his fingers brushed against the shimmering coins of precious metal.

"Inside a dragon's stomach." Killer commented, looking around the edge of the dragon's open stomach.

"You're going _nowhere_ near heaven." Gabriella said frankly to his ironic comment.

Kidd ignored her and continued to stare at the gold, but turned around when his first-mate brought up a good question.

"How do we get it out of here?"

* * *

><p>"We shouldn't have left like that, Vulcan." Hebe scolded the old fire mage, Vulcan, with a wage of her long red nailed finger nails and a mild glare.<p>

"Shut it." He said bluntly as they walked along the sun bathed marble hallway with dark shadows being cast from long and round pillars. "It was the only thing we could do. Those pirates killed my dragon because of dumb luck. If _you_ had taken care of those two in the caverns we would have still been at the mines."

Hebe scoffed in utter offense. "Don't pin this on me, mister."

"_What are you to doing here_?" A thick Arabian accented voice asked smoothly from the shadows of a doorway, making the two mages jump slightly in shock from the sudden incoming sound. "_Didn't I tell you to go and mine the diamonds? And Hebe,_" the smooth voice directed its attention to the stiff blonde woman. "_Where is your necklace_?"

Hebe brought her hand to where the necklace should have been and felt nothing. "It—it must have fallen off because of Caden's heir…" she stuttered nervously to the voice in the shadows.

The voice hummed in deep thought. "_Seems like Calamity is making her move…even if she didn't mean to get involved with my plans, she did, and now, she will pay_."

* * *

><p>Hebe is the Greek goddess of youth, so I thought that would be a good name of the older summoner mage who tries to look young.<p>

And Vulcan is the Roman god of fire, so the name fits a grandmaster fire mage.


	11. Chapter 11: I will kill you, Killer

This was a fun chapter to write. I really don't know how to describe it, but hope you like it, though it's a bit shorter then usual.

**Edited: I decided to edit this chapter, too. So, this will be the last time you have this bold prints drawing you in to read, until you get to chapter 40. Then you start seeing them again. :D**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own plot and OCs.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: I will kill you, Killer.<p>

The plan was simple.

Killer would go get the crew then lead them all back so they could haul the dragon carcass with gold out of the mountain. Kidd would have forced Gabriella to use her magic, but sadly she couldn't use it at the moment because of diamonds, which Kidd still found to be weird. So, Kidd took Gabriella up to the top of the mountain with Musket, and she almost had a panic attack because she lost the crystal. Kidd found it to be a humorous, and slightly annoying, scene, but it ended quickly because her familiar had it. She scolded him, but didn't to a very good job on it, but he kept his comments to himself and just watched her use the crystal to see if the gem was there, and it wasn't.

It didn't bug Kidd much since he had whole hoard of gold to himself, but it made his summoner mage irritated beyond belief. So irritated, in fact, that she tripped over a stone and fell awkwardly into his arms. It was..._strange_, and it didn't help when Killer came back and Kidd ended up dropping her. He pushed that into the pits of his mind that and just focused on getting the dragon corpse out and finding the right place to blow up a hole in the wall so that he could get it out.

So, the plan wasn't as simple as he wanted it to be, but it still worked in the end somehow. They got the dragon corpse back to the dock, having destroyed the town because the villagers were desperate enough to try and steal his gold. Then he had his crew load up the hull in the ship's treasure vault and then dump the carcass in the ocean. Then finally, they left, just like that, and Kidd found himself to be in a good mood after all that.

So, Kidd was a happy camper at the wheel of his ship with a broad, greedy grin reaching ear to ear, but then it just had to melt to a frown because of his stupid first-mate.

"So, what do you think of her?" Killer asked by his side.

Kidd shot a scowl in the direction of the masked blonde and said nothing. He knew who he was talking about, and why, but the red head wanted nothing to do with that question, so he ignored it.

Killer turned his masked head fully in the direction of his captain and childhood friend because of the fuming silence and bluntly said: "You like her."

Kidd's response to that was snapping the pegs off the wheel with a ferocious, animalistic growl as his eyes narrowed into two dangerously deadly slits at the masked blonde.

Killer sighed through his mask. "Someone get the shipwright. Kidd broke the wheel…_again_."

Kidd chucked the two pieces of wood at his first mate, but sadly, in his mind, the masked blonde caught both pieces in a single hand. The red head grunted with a dark scowl and turned on his heel, storming off from the wheel to the galley, hoping to find beer. Because beer fixed everything. The galley was vacant, silent with the only sounds coming from the kitchen where the cook was working on meals for his crew. Kidd stomped over to the kitchen door, shoved it open, letting the door hit the wall with a _bang_ and held up a hand where a large bottle of alcohol was thrown into place.

His cook knew the routine.

Then slamming the door behind him with another _bang_, Kidd walked over to the first chair he saw and sat down to drink, hoping for peace of mind, but sadly, ever so sadly, he did not get it.

"Err…_Captain_..."

Kidd glared at the voice, the _female_ voice, and he scowled at the summoner mage.

She didn't look him in the eye, just glanced to the side with a sour look on her face, but her cheeks had a small…_blush?_

Kidd blinked at the look, but something else caught his eye, the shiny shimmering of gold that hung loosely around her neck, the necklace the old whore mage had back at the mountain. "Where'd you get that?" he questioned her.

Gabriella focused her golden eyes back on his with a curious look, but the blush was still there. Why was she blushing? Kidd didn't know, but he pointed to the jewelry around her neck. "Oh, this," she looked down at the necklace, running her fingers along the chain to lift it in the air. "I found it before we left the island. I thought it would be a good idea to pick it up just in case we run into diamonds again."

Kidd nodded. It seemed like a good idea.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk about…" the summoner mage looked to the side again and her cheeks darkened to a red that was highlighted by the shadow of her hood.

"Yeah?" Kidd's hairless brow rose, he was curious on the matter of why she was acting this way.

"Well…um…" she trailed off, shrinking down further into her body in embarrassment like a turtle would hide in its shell.

Then Kidd scowled. If this was about what Killer had said when they were on the mountain, then he didn't want to hear anything about it.

"Could I be the lookout…?" Her face twisted back into its sour state, but the blush continued to spread and darken.

Kidd blinked. That was something he wasn't expecting. "The lookout?"

"Yeah…I'm bored, and I want to do something, and that seems like the only thing I would want to do." She explained in a harsh tone, trying to avert his eyes from her crimson blush.

Kidd shrugged. "If it keeps you out of my hair then go do it." He said simply.

Gabriella just nodded her head then quickly turned on her heel to flee the galley.

Kidd just sighed at her escape. He was glad that no one saw that, _a lot_ of questions would come up if his crew saw a girl blushing over him; a feared, deadly, merciless supernova pirate captain. But sadly, someone was watching in the shadows, and he was smirking like a devil would.

* * *

><p>Bedros strolled out onto the deck, walking over to the masked blonde at the repaired wheel.<p>

Killer turned his head to the side to look at the stone devil leaning against the railing, smirking a smirk that meant nothing good was about to happen. "What?"

"So," Bedros started slowly. "Where's Abbie?"

"Crow's nest." Killer replied shortly.

"Do you know _why_ she's there?" Bedros's smirk grew wider.

"Don't know," Killer shrugged. "Kidd probably ordered her to be the lookout."

"_No~_." Bedros sang out the word with a sneering grin.

Killer flinched at the out of key note. "No?"

"She _asked_ him." Bedros said deviously with a gleaming look of mischief in his red eyes. "And she had the _biggest_ blush on her face when she did."

Killer just stared at him. "She probably felt embarrassed to ask him." The first mate stated simply. The two had '_control_' issues and the summoner mage didn't like to take orders, so doing something positive for Kidd would probably make her feel uncomfortable and like he had a hold on her or something, which was stupid in his mind since his captain sort of already had a hold on her.

"_Or_." Bedros added another option. "She _likes_ him."

Killer shrugged. "Maybe, would be easier since he likes her, too."

"Really?" Bedros said, the mischievous glint his red colored eyes shone brighter and his eyes seemed to grow wider at the new bit of information.

Killer felt like he shouldn't have said that out loud so openly, especially to a devil no less. "He's says he doesn't though," well, Kidd said it through breaking his ship.

"_Right_." Bedros held out that word in a skeptical tone. "Of course he doesn't. I've never seen them do anything anyway."

Killer was silent.

Bedros blinked at the blonde first-mate's silence. "Did you?"

Killer just stayed silent.

"You did, didn't you?" Bedros said slyly with a small smirk to match.

"I guess," was Killer's response. "But it doesn't matter anyway."

"Why not?" The stone devil looked at him curiously.

"Because neither of them will say anything to the other." Killer answered.

"Oh really…" Bedros said slowly. "How about…a bet then, eh? To see if one will say something, hmm?"

"I'm not going to bet on my Captain."

"Then a gentleman's wager?" The stone devil corrected.

Killer was silent and thought it over. Still a bet, but a different name; making the game different as well. "Alright."

"I say that Kidd will tell her first." Bedros took the odds of it. He thought that the red head would crack under the pressure of emotion, plus he liked to play with fire.

Killer scoffed through his mask. "I've known Kidd forever; he'd never admit something like _that_ to anyone."

"So you think Abbie will say something first?" Bedros inquired with a sly smirk.

"Probably."

"Fine then, it's a deal." The stone devil held out an open hand.

Killer just stared at it.

"We have to seal the deal now." Bedros explained waving his open hand in the air.

"We made a wager on them; not my soul." Killer said dryly.

Bedros put up his hands in defense. "Alright, alright, but," the stone devil paused. "I think we need something to move this wager along, eh?" He then walked away from the masked blonde and to the foot of the mast, taking the rope that led up to the crow's nest and pulled himself to the top.

Killer watched as the hooded head of the summoner mage come up over the brim when Bedros slapped his hands on the edge and said something to her. As quickly as she came up she shot back down. Then, the stone devil released his hold on the crow's nest and dropped to the ground in a crouch before turning to the blonde with a large grin and two thumbs up. Killer scowled behind his mask: if Bedros just fucked up his chances of winning, he'd kill him.

* * *

><p>Killer watched the summoner mage sitting on the railing with a glare, directed more at Bedros though.<p>

It had been a few days since the wager was made and Gabriella hadn't come within ten feet of Kidd since then. She was always curled up in her room, the crow's nest, or on the railing with a thoughtful look etched into her features. The masked blonde wondered what the stone devil had said to the summoner mage, but right not he was getting a bit angry with the fact that he was going to lose. Though he wasn't going to win or lose anything, he just wanted to prove to the stone devil that he was right, but that wasn't going to happen with the summoner mage never going near Kidd.

His thoughts were interrupted though when there was a yelp and he snapped his full focus back on the summoner mage tumbling off the railing.

Kidd, who was at the wheel again, sighed and stalked over to the railing where his summoner mage had disappeared to and Killer followed right behind him and he leaned over the edge, seeing Gabriella was clinging to the side of the ship awkwardly, and the pain from it was obvious in her face. A heavy sigh escaped pass Kidd's lips and used his devil fruit powers, tugging on the chain from her cloak until it was in his hand, then he placed her back onto the deck.

Killer stared at the red head: Kidd would never do something like that.

The summoner mage twitched as she flexed her bloody fingers and then Kidd took her hands in his to inspect them.

Once again, Killer stared at him for doing the uncharacteristic thing.

Gabriella snapped her head to look up at Kidd, and Killer noticed the dark blush across her cheeks, and then she ripped her hands away from Kidd's, running back into the ship.

Kidd just stared at her retreating back. "What the fuck is wrong with her?"

_If only you knew_, is what Killer would have said, but he had a feeling he was going to lose this wager if he said that.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Kidd was sitting at the large desk in his office, looking over notes that his navigator had given him with Killer standing to his side, leaning over the red head's shoulder. They were both silently reading over the quick and messy words, telling them about the hidden rumors that were picked up about the upcoming island. There was a rumor that gold was there, but also a rumor that it was taken already. It was something that needed to be discussed with all the higher ranking members of the crew, to see if they should go on this rumor and either find treasure or be lost on a wild goose chase, but that was going to be put on hold since a knock came from the door.<p>

"Come in." Kidd grunted absentmindedly as he continued staring down at the papers in front of him with a concentrated look.

Killer glanced up though, and he saw the summoner mage come in with a serious look on her face.

"What is it?" Kidd questioned without even looking up to see who it was, but then he got a good look at who it was when the owner's face inches from his.

Gabriella was leaning over from the other side of his desk, staring at him with a thoughtful look in her golden eyes.

Kidd scowled at her, but didn't distance himself from the too close summoner mage. "What the hell?"

The summoner mage didn't say anything and continued to stare.

Killer looked back and forth between the two. In his gut, he had a feeling this had to do with the wager. Maybe she was going to tell him, and if it was, he wanted to rub it into the stone devil's face as much as he could that he was right.

"Hmm…" The summoner mage hummed lightly with a small tilt of her head as she continued to stare at Kidd, despite the look of death he was giving her.

"What the hell?" Kidd repeated harshly, hoping the roughness in his voice would make the summoner mage back off.

"You know what…" She started off slowly, letting the words roll off her tongue.

"What?" Kidd bit out sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Killer waited.

"You have really _ugly _goggles." She finished.

A vein bulged at Kidd's forehead at the statement and he shoved his hand to the summoner mage's face, pushing her violently from his personal space and to the floor.

Killer sighed: this was not looking good for him.

* * *

><p>After dinner, the galley was cleared out and the only ones left were Kidd and Killer. They both just sat in comfortable silence while Kidd nursed another beer and Killer dozed to the sounds of the crew finishing up last minute jobs before darkness fell over the seas or getting ready to for a rickety, night's sleep. Then small taps echoed in the large space, and Kidd scowled when the summoner mage was standing before them.<p>

Gabriella, like earlier that afternoon, pressed the palms of her hands to the table and leaned forward until she was inches from Kidd again.

Kidd's scowled deepened at her. "Now what is it?" He bit out with a snarl.

Killer had that gut feeling again, and maybe it would actually happen this time since he saw the summoner mage moved closer to the red head until their noses almost touched.

Kidd looked at her slightly confused and moved back from the face a bit too close to his.

Gabriella tilted her head from side to side, taking in a good look his face. "You know what…"

Kidd's hairless brow rose. "What?"

Killer waited.

"You have a weird nose," was her answer.

Kidd's confused and curious look snapped into a dangerous looking scowl with dark eyes, slapping the summoner mage away from his face and there was a _thump_ where her body hit the floor.

Killer sighed over the loud moaning coming from the summoner mage: he really shouldn't get his hopes that high.

* * *

><p>The crew saw land early that morning, so that meant an earlier start then usual, much to the red head's dismay. He didn't like to be woken up at the late hours of three in the morning just because there was an island that needed to be docked at. So it was easy and clear to see that the captain of the Kidd Pirates was extremely pissed off, especially with the person who yelled land, who had magically disappeared, and Kidd stormed off the gangplank with Killer right beside him as always, but then he stopped at the small tug on his sleeve.<p>

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose; no one in his crew did that, but for one person. "What is it, _god damnit?_" He turned around to face the summoner mage with a glare that lacked tons of sleep thanks to the large bags under his eyes.

The summoner mage stood up on her tippy toes in front of him and stared into his eyes.

Kidd was _not_ in the mood for this.

Killer didn't keep his hopes up.

But the next thing that the summoner mage made Kidd's eyes open wide with shock when she placed her hands gently on his bare chest to pull herself closer to his face.

Killer blinked from behind his mask and waited.

"Does your hair stand up like that naturally?" The summoner mage questioned innocently.

Kidd snapped from shock and shoved her away from him, making her stumble backwards into the water with a _splash_.

Killer sighed: this was why he wasn't supposed to keep his hopes up for winning.

* * *

><p>After the a good night's sleep, though he actually slept all day, Kidd felt a bit better, though not by much since his summoner mage had been acting weird and getting on his last nerve. Getting <em>wa<em>y too close, saying blunt insults right to his face, then questioning him like that just really pissed him off. But he was going to push it aside. He didn't feel like having a migraine at the moment, so he just sat in a chair by the fire with beer in hand, hoping that would ease the throbbing pain in his head. That didn't happen because she came walking up in front of his view of the flickering flames.

She scooted his legs over that were propped up on a footstool and sat on the edge while leaning over to his face.

Kidd leaned back further in his chair, hoping to make more distance, but it didn't work.

She looked at him with curious look, tilting her head to the side and blinking her eyes as if his face was constantly changing.

"Seriously," Kidd flat out said with an irritated look. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"You know what…" She said slowly, ignoring his question.

Kidd rolled his eyes.

"You may have ugly goggles."

Kidd narrowed his eyes at her.

"You may have a weird nose."

Kidd glared at her.

"And you may have odd looking hair."

Kidd scowled at her.

"But that's okay, because I like you, too."

Kidd felt his jaw go slack, hanging open slightly and he stared at her unmoving, not even blinking his eyes. _She said what…_was the only thought going through his mind, then the next thought snapped him out of shock and he shoved the summoner mage away from him roughly, making her go to the floor with a _bang_ and he jerked his head towards Killer who was silently staring at them from the chair next to him and said: "_I'm going to fucking kill you, you little fucking blonde pansy_."

* * *

><p>Poor Killer...he won the bet, but now Kidd wants to kill him.<p>

But anyway, I'm guessing you know what Bedros told Gabriella by the ending...if you don't then, he said "_Kidd likes you_."


	12. Chapter 12: Down in the Dumps

An earlier update for this chapter, and I just want to thank everyone reviews, favorites, and alerts. Just makes me happy to hear what you have to say or see that you're watching and reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own plot and OCs.

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><p>Chapter 12: Down in the Dumps.<p>

Kidd had a massive headache. Why? He got drunk because in his mind set: beer fixed everything. But no. Beer did _not_ fix his problem; it only made it worse since he had a massive hangover pounding against his brain from the inside out. So now, he was left with the memory of Gabriella saying…_that_ to his face; and _that_, made his headache feel even worse.

He didn't even know how she could even think _that_: he forced her to join his crew, killed her '_precious_' bears, threw her multiple times into the ocean, harassed her, threatened her, and anything else that bad he couldn't think of at the moment because of his throbbing headache making its painful course through his head. If anything, she should _hate_ him, not that he cared if she hated him, as long as she listened to him. But still, he couldn't answer the question of why she felt _that_ way.

Was it really because of their '_falling down on each other_' issue? Then he officially could say that women had a fucked up mind set on things like _that_. Just because they came into close contact like _that_, shouldn't spark something like _that. _Of course, men were the exception when it came to a situation like _that_. Not that he had _any_ type of feelings for the summoner mage like _that_; like he said: pretty woman rubbing against a man's groin, _something_ is going to happen, and he wasn't calling her pretty either.

But over all, the whole thing was stupid, and he had to deal with her stupid emotions now. That was something he did _not_ need to deal with: the stupid embarrassed blushing when he would try to order her to do something, the stupid running away out of embarrassment because he walked into the room, and all the other stupid emotional stuff that he didn't feel like listing, once again, because of the pounding headache. God, he was really starting to hate women by the minute, especially ones that he had to deal with everyday.

Kidd slumped in his seat, rubbing his forehead and tried to avoid looking at the stairs he knew the summoner mage would travel down at the smell of coffee in the air. He waited and waited, but the sound of light taps from her boots never came down the stairs as the time went by. She didn't come down. He started to feel a bit annoyed for some reason, and he started to tap his fingers against the table top, waiting.

This was unlike her. She was like a shark attracted to blood in water when she smelled coffee, and the coffee smell had at least been in the air for five minutes. Now it was just making his headache feel worse with the torn thoughts of why he was a bit disappointed that she didn't come down.

Kidd groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where is she?" he asked his first-mate sitting across from him rather then next to him like he normally did.

Killer had been avoiding his captain's arm reach since the thing that happened last night. He may have won the bet—wager, which he rubbed in the stone devil's face smugly, though after he escaped Kidd's fuming and over boiled anger. But still, he was pretty sure Kidd just might follow up with that threat or at least close to it, but luckily for him, he hadn't…yet.

"She left before you even came down." The masked blonde replied simply with a small shrug.

"Oh." Kidd said shortly.

Behind Killer's mask, an eyebrow rose when he saw a bit of disappointment hidden in his captain's voice. "Did you want to see her?"

Kidd's frowning face snapped into a dark scowl. "No." he bit out harshly through clenched teeth.

Killer just couldn't resist when Kidd left an opening for him to tease, even if he had a death threat on his head, he just couldn't pass it up. "Right." The blonde rolled his eyes from behind his mask with a skeptical tone in his voice.

Kidd glared, knowing the motion well when his first-mate was rolling his eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to see her?" Killer questioned again with a bit of amusement on his tongue.

Kidd just rolled his eyes. "Just tell me if you know where she went?"

Killer tilted his head in amusement. "Yeah, why? Do you want to go look for her?" there was a small chuckle that escaped passed his lips, which translated to a crack through his mask.

Kidd narrowed his eyes when he heard the familiar and hated crack, especially when it was directed at him. "I need to talk to her about this whole _thing_." He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Really..." Killer drew out slowly with another small laugh.

Kidd narrowed his eyes more towards his first mate saying that he wouldn't be seeing tomorrow if he kept it up.

Killer decided that his teasing time was up before Kidd actually did try and kill him or close to it. "She's with Bedros looking for the gem."

Kidd just grunted with a roll of his eyes, standing up from his seat and stalked off angrily to the door.

Killer shook his head with another chuckle through his mask; his captain liked her, no matter what he said.

* * *

><p>"I hate you; I really, really, <em>really<em> hate you." Gabriella grumbled, narrowing her golden eyes at the stone devil walking next to her.

He made a fool out of her by saying something like _that_ to her. Kidd liking her, she knew it was just a joke. Hell, she thought it was a joke at first, but then after thinking over it for a few days, she thought it was like a playground type of crush; when the guy bullied the girl he liked over and over to get her to notice him, something like that. And that something made her go overboard, literally, then the way he actually helped her up and the way he held her hands, just made her think it had to be true.

And she had to admit, he was pretty attractive, minus all his flaws: ugly goggle, weird nose, and odd looking hair, but everyone had flaws, so it was something that could be easily over looked. But it was obvious that Kidd did _not _like her, or had _any_ type of feeling like _that_ towards her. Now Kidd probably thought she was crazy and she felt like an embarrassed school girl, which was already embarrassing to admit, and it was all because of Bedros. Stupid stone devil.

The stone devil just shrugged a carelessly. "It's what Killer told me. Now, would Killer lie about his captain's feeling, hmm?" Bedros challenged her with a small smirk crawling on his lips.

"Ceh." She rolled her eyes in irritation. "Yeah, and what did _Kidd_ say?" she retorted with a mocking snap.

"Why don't you ask him for yourself?" The stone devil said, looking over his shoulder with a jerk of his thumb.

Gabriella turned around and stared, letting a ginger blush escape across her cheeks from behind the shadow of her hood as she saw her captain walking over to them. She really, really, _really_ did _not_ want to see him right now.

"Hey." Kidd's voice came out strong as he walked closer, a scowl forming on his face when he clearly could see the red rising in her cheeks.

She spun her head away from him quickly and started to walk away, but that didn't work since she forgot about his devil fruit powers and the metal all around her clothing. Jerking back, she flew through the air, watching the look on the stone devil's face spread with amusement. She glared at him, but the glare switched to a nervous, bashful look when she felt the tug of Kidd's hand on the chain on her cloak.

Kidd whipped her around, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "We need to talk." He said with a deep glare.

The summoner mage looked down at her feet dangling above the ground, trying to hide the spreading red color on her cheeks.

"Then I'll leave you two alone." Bedros chuckled with a large smirk on his face while he started to stroll calmly away until Kidd wrapped his fingers around the stone devil's throat, stopping him in his tracks. The stone devil gasped for air his lungs were losing, trying weakly to pry the tightening fingers away from his neck.

"You stay, because you need to hear this, too." Kidd glared at the stone devil, letting some pressure off the neck he was squeezing. "First." He turned back to the summoner mage, shaking her violently to get her to look at him again. "I don't care how you feel and I don't care if you will even continue to…" he paused and thought of a word to describe what he wanted to get across. "…feel this way...but if it gets out of hand or something is said, I swear I will end it." He finished off with a dangerous scowl.

Gabriella just nodded dumbly, but the blush still continued to grow since Kidd's face was extremely close to hers.

"What's the second?" Bedros asked while gasping for air.

Kidd turned away from his summoner mage and his grip tightened again on the neck when he scowled at the stone devil. "Don't do anything stupid like that _again_. Or I will really kill you."

Bedros nodded weakly then flopped to the ground with a _thud_ as Kidd let him go, wheezing and coughing while nursing his neck gently with his fingers. "I get a death threat, but she doesn't. He _so_ does like her." he scoffed weakly under his breath to himself, but Kidd still heard him, earning the stone devil a sharp and harsh kick in the stomach.

Kidd turned away from the moaning stone devil and back to the summoner mage, letting go of the chain from Gabriella's cloak for her to drop to the ground with a small _tap_.

Gabriella readjusted her cloak with a small blush that she kept hidden from Kidd by turning around on her heels quickly and started back to the small mountain that was on the island.

There were footsteps behind her, but she didn't know if it was Kidd or Bedros and she didn't feel like checking, though sadly she had a feeling it wasn't Bedros since the stone devil couldn't recover _that_ fast. She prayed he could though; she prayed and prayed that it was the stone devil, which was ironic to say the least.

Keeping focused on the mountain, the summoner mage looked at the top. Once she got there, everything would be good, one less island to check, and the quicker she can go hide in a hole from the person she knew who was following her, but would not admit it was _that_ person as the sound of heavy soles continued to crunch the grass traveled into her ears.

_Crunch. Crunch._

Get to the mountain.

_Crunch. Crunch._

Find the gem.

_Crunch. Crunch._

Don't look at who is following.

_Crunch. Crunch._

It's Bedros.

_Crunch. Crunch._

Not Kidd.

_Crunch. **Crack**!_

Gabriella stopped in her tracks at the loud abnormal noise that invaded her long and pointy ears. Then the cracking sound grew into small pops that continued to move all around her feet until she felt her stance stagger. A yelp escaped passed her lips as she started to fall backwards, but then the sound of a familiar grunt caused her to suck in her breath and tighten her lips into a thin line.

Not Bedros.

The harsh impact from her back colliding with a certain someone's chest that had weapons strapped across it, made her close her eyes in pain and embarrassment as she felt heat rise into her cheeks again. She wanted to hide in a hole _away_ from Kidd, not _with_ him.

"Shit…" Kidd grumbled with a scowl, rubbing the back of his head as he slowly rose into a sitting position above the pile of rocks he landed on.

Gabriella just remained silent, keeping her eyes sealed tight and tried to ignore the fact that she was sitting on his lap.

"Awe." Bedros cooed with a mockingly sweet tone, making Kidd snap his head up towards the edge of the hole he and his summoner mage fell through. "Don't that just look _too_ cute, now." The stone devil continued to mock with a cheesy, high-pitched accent and smirked down at them.

Kidd's scowl deepened as his hairless brows knitted closer together and he pushed Gabriella away from him, reaching for his gun.

"Whoa!" Bedros jumped out of the way of the incoming bullet, but then lost his balance on the loose rocks of the edge and tumbled down into the hole head first.

"Heh." Kidd laughed dryly with a small grin as he saw the stone devil lying on his stomach in pain.

Bedros peeled his head away from the ground, spitting out bits of rock then turned to glare at the red head with narrow eyes.

"You deserved it." Kidd shrugged, replacing his gun back in its holder then stood up, dusting off his pants and coat.

Bedros just grumbled getting up off the ground and replaced his lost cowboy hat back on his messy, short black hair.

Kidd ignored him, and turned to his summoner mage, but he looked around the spotlighted hole to find she wasn't there. He blinked for a second. "Gabriella?" he looked around the space again and then saw her hooded head pop out from a small tunnel.

A single brow rose on her face and she tilted her head in confusion, but Kidd could see a bit of a nervous look hidden in her eyes.

"Where are you going?" Kidd questioned, walking off the pile of rocks and to where the tunnel was. He looked around it for a second, scanning as far as his eyes could see into the darkness, and he frowned: it was narrow and small.

"Well, we can't go up." She pointed up at the out of reach opening of the hole. "So might as well go this way."

Kidd looked into the tunnel again, then over his shoulder at where the blue sky of day dotted by white clouds that was peeking out, and then back at her. "Remember the last time we went through tunnels." He said bluntly with a glare.

Gabriella blushed and started to slink back further into her cloak to hide in embarrassment.

Kidd scowled at her. "We got lost." He elaborated since she obviously was remembering the _wrong_ thing.

"Oh…" she said quietly, but the still blush continued to grow.

Kidd rolled his eyes. "Let's just go." He mumbled under his breath angrily.

"I'll just stay here." Bedros said with a relaxed smirk while he lounged in the pile of rocks.

Kidd turned back towards the stone devil with a dark scowl that said: _get-your-ass-over-here-or-else-I'll-shoot-at-you-a gain_.

Bedros flinched at the look and scrambled up on his feet to the entrance of the tunnel. "Fine, fine." He said quickly in defense while putting up his hands.

Kidd scowled at the stone devil one last time before turning back to lead the way down the narrow tunnel.

It was uncomfortable. The tunnel was more narrow than he had original thought and his broad shoulders brushed awkwardly against the rock wall and his eyes were blindly guiding him through who knows where. But then there was a bright golden light starting to bounce off the walls and an orb drifted in front of him.

Looking back in confusion, he saw his summoner mage making small balls of bright gold light with her hands. "What's that?"

"It's an orb of light; kinda like a flashlight." She answered him with a small smile, wiggling her fingers as the small orbs hovered above them.

"Why didn't you use that when we were at the other mountain?" Kidd's hairless brow rose slightly at the orbs and his curiosity started to get to him as his own fingers reached on to brush against the pure circular light floating around the summoner mage's hands.

"Because of the diamonds." She reminded him simply. "Plus I usually don't like to use magic went I don't need to, and there were torches there, remember?"

"Hmm." Kidd hummed absentmindedly while his fingers probed the gold light.

It was surprisingly warm to the touch, but the orbs seemed to have a mind of their own and would scatter from his curious fingers. That made his summoner mage laugh lightly, it was close to being a giggle, yet not girlish enough to be one. Kidd's brows knitted together, staring at her face bathed in the golden light. She looked different since the brightness was fully lighting her face, forcing the shadow from under her hood away; a calm and relaxed face with a small smile as she watched the small orbs scattered from his hand. Then her gaze moved to him, smiling at him and Kidd could only blink with a blank stare: she _never_ looked at him like that.

A cough from Bedros made Kidd snap his head away from his weird acting summoner mage and to the stone devil, giving him a scowl with dramatic shadows from the bright lights when the red head saw the mocking smirk.

Bedros shuttered at the look and quickly fixed his face into blank and emotionless expression.

With an angry scoff, Kidd rolled his eyes, turning away from the small golden orbs and his summoner mage to the larger orb hovering a few feet in front of him.

The light was useful, that proved the obvious since now he could actually see where he was going and he could see the end of the tunnel. There was a large cavern with long and pointed rock structures hanging from the ceiling and an almost wall to wall pit of nothing; black, lifeless, endless: nothing. There was an old stone bridge crossing the pit, decorated with broken, snarling stone gargoyles with curled wings and twisting tails that looked evil against the light causing shadows to grow on the sneering faces of each perched winged stone being.

Kidd kicked a small pebble with the tip of his boot into the pit, listening to it drop, but with no echoing sound telling him that it hit the bottom. He frowned then looked at the bridge warily. It looked old for sure, crumbling stones and large cracks across the fenced wall and also on the cracked cobblestone path. Something like that had to break if enough pressure was under it, but sadly, his summoner mage didn't see that.

She took a small step forward, then two onto the bridge's cobble stone surface. It seemed fine at first, and Kidd thought that maybe the bridge was safe, but then when the tip of her toe touched the path again for her third step. It caused the bridge to rumble and shake.

Kidd saw her body sway back and forth then shift downward and his hand reached out, grabbing the back of her cloak roughly, with the force causing his summoner mage's back to collide into his chest again.

"Looks like someone cares." Bedros pointed out slyly under his breath as he saw the protective side kick in when the summoner mage was in danger, but he hoped that Kidd didn't hear.

There was a _bang_ echoing through the spacious area and the stone devil ducked, grabbing the edges of his hat as he crouched to the ground swiftly.

"Shut it." Kidd snarled, pushing Gabriella away from him roughly, but made sure to push her away from the partly broken bridge.

She stumbled forward a bit, but then something rammed into her leg, causing the summoner mage to scream and jump back to cling desperately to the bewildered red head.

* * *

><p>Cliffhanger...<p>

And will Bedros ever learn? Don't tease Kidd: only Killer can,_ barely_, get away with it. But I guess a devil's gotta do what a devil's gotta do, which is,_ try_, and make chaos of everything.


	13. Chapter 13: You!

Not much to say in the note, but maybe that I'm sorry for any mistakes within the story; I may have missed some.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own OC and plot.

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><p>Chapter 13: <em>You<em>!

"_Ewe_,_ ewe_, _ewe!_" Gabriella squealed in a high-pitched voice with her face smashed against Kidd's chest, gripping at the edge of his coat to pull herself closer to his body from the _thing_ that rammed her in the leg.

Kidd would have been shocked at the summoner mage invading his personal space, but instead his focus was turned to the large dog-size _rat_ he kicked across the room.

It's head smashed into his summoner mage's leg, obviously freaking her out since she was now clinging to him desperately as if her life depended on it. And when he saw the rat stumble back, shaking its head then snap back to try and ram her leg again, Kidd kicked it as hard as he could, but that didn't look like it was going to stop the rat from trying again.

The rat wobbled back onto its stubby legs, shaking its head wildly to get rid of the flying-through-air feeling, then whipped its beady red eyes back in the summoner mage's direction with a deep snarl from inside its throat, flashing its dirty yellow teeth covered by a bubbly foam around the jaws and curled, black lips.

Kidd scowled at the annoyance of a giant _pain-in-the-as_s rodent trying to attack his summoner mage in a pitiful way, and he tried to move his summoner mage away from his chest, but she wouldn't budge. The red head rolled his eyes, and just shifted her enough so he could get his revolver and he whipped it out in the direction of the charging rat.

_Bang!_

The shot went off and Kidd blinked at the rat still running at them with a bloody head.

_Bang!_

Kidd watched the blood pour from the rat's eye, but it still continued to barrel towards them.

_Bang!_

Kidd scowled at the fact that the rat was still running even when its brains went flying out from its broken skull, and he picked up his summoner mage to side step the one-track rat.

The rat didn't change direction when they moved and went running into the black pit behind them, falling into the nothingness with no sound of hitting the bottom.

Kidd could only glare at the stupid situation of a rat that wouldn't die unless it went running into a pit and he just rolled his eyes, replacing his revolver back in its holder with a _click_.

"Well, now isn't that cute." Bedros cooed mockingly at the red head holding the summoner mage closely to his body with an arm wrapped firmly around her.

_Bang!_

Bedros dropped to the ground, his hat hovering in the air a second longer from the speed of the bullet keeping it up. As quickly as the gun was replaced, it was back out and pointing threateningly at the stone devil. Bedros looked up at the fuming red head from his crouched position as his cowboy hat plopped back down on his head with a small _tap_. "Can't you take a joke?"

"_**No**_." Kidd answered bluntly, placing his gun back in its holder again before peeling his summoner mage away from him, though he had some difficulty with it.

When he tried to push her away, she quickly snaked her arms around his torso tightly and pressed her face further to his chest. Kidd tried again, more roughly this time, and she just continued to squeeze his muscular frame, digging her nails into his skin. Kidd blinked, and tried to move her a third time, but the more he pushed, the more her nails would claw his skin, and her nails were longer then he thought. A sharp groan of frustration shot out passed his lips as Kidd threw his head back, and he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

"You know you like it." Bedros said off to the side, earning him another bullet to almost hit his head.

"You never learn." Kidd scowled at the stone devil, not even bothering to put his gun away again.

"It's just my personality as a devil, you know: mess with people whenever I can, since you get pretty ticked when Abbie is involved." Bedros smirked.

"Whatever happened to getting on my good side." Kidd's fingers tapped against the metal of his gun while one hovered over the trigger.

Bedros just shrugged. "As a devil, I like to play with fire. Getting on a good side doesn't matter much since you haven't killed me yet today, eh." The stone devil's smirk widened.

Kidd's scowl darkened at the statement. "Play with fire too much and you'll get burned and die." He said coldly.

"If I die then how will you get across the bridge?" Bedros challenged with a larger smirk.

"And what can you do to the bridge?" Kidd looked at him curiously, though there was still a glare etched into his features.

"I'm a _stone_ devil." Bedros replied, slowly standing up from his crouched position and dusting away the dirt on his black pants. "I can make the stone like it was built yesterday, strong and fit to walk on."

Kidd stared at him. "Then why didn't you do that when we first came in."

Bedros smirked at the question. "Like I said: I like to play with fire."

_Bang!_

Bedros jumped out of the way of the incoming bullet. "Okay, okay! I'll do it now! Jeez…" the stone devil glared at the red head over his shoulder as he walked to the old stone bridge. He stood at the foot of the bridge, letting his chest rise and fall as he took calming breaths. He closed his eyes and a look of concentration crossed his features when his brows knitted together. Then a small ashy brown glow started to engulf his hands, making the bridge creak as it hardened with years being slowly pulled away.

Kidd watched as the bridge slowly turning back to its original marble state with the stone gargoyles broken teeth and chipped wings growing back inch by inch. This was the first time he saw the stone devil use his magic, and he had to admit he was impressed, though just barely.

As the last crack vanished from the colorful, swirling stone, Bedros took a step back and admired his work before turning to Kidd with a prideful smirk. "Well, what do ya think?"

Kidd just shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't about to admit he was impressed, even if it was only a little bit.

Bedros scowled mildly at the lack of enthusiasm, and started forward onto the bridge with a stomp in his step.

Kidd would have moved forward, too, but there was still a problem. "Gabriella. Let go." He ordered the summoner mage still clinging to his body. Why was she even still hanging on to him? "You know that stupid rodent is gone, right?"

She didn't move.

Kidd just heaved a loud sigh, but then scowled with a low growl. Was she doing this because of how she felt?

That just pissed Kidd off and he roughly grabbed the back of her cloak, trying to pry her away from his body, but the more her pulled the more she would dig her nails into the skin on his back. Before her talon-like nails drew blood, though he didn't care, but it would be uncomfortable since he didn't need to have people finding out that a girl clawed his back through a hug until he bled, Kidd stopped pulling and tried to think of a plan B.

"Just pick her up."

Kidd snapped his head towards the stone devil leaning against one of the marble gargoyles perched on the bridge. "Excuse me?" He scowled darkly at Bedros.

"Just pick her up." Bedros repeated. "You know, carry her."

Kidd didn't like the idea, but it seemed like the only way to actually move his summoner mage since she wouldn't move at all on her own. So he placed his gun back in its proper place then shifted his summoner mage's body enough to the side and he slipped his arm under her legs while the other held firmly to her shoulders. The movement made his summoner mage quickly unwrap her arms from around his torso and shift her position to bury her face in the crook of his neck as her hands gripped at the cloth of the coat on his shoulders.

Kidd rolled his eyes at the girlish reaction on his summoner mage, but then something caught his eye.

There was something thick and gooey on her exposed knee, the one furthest away from his body, and it had at a foamy-like quality as bubbles gently popped on the substance's surface.

Kidd stared at it for a second, trying to figure out what it was, then it hit him. The rat. It was foaming at the mouth, and Gabriella was short enough that when the rat hit her in the leg then some of it must have transferred to her knee, but then why was she acting like this? Was it poison that was freezing her into place and causing her pain? The thoughts did not go over well inside Kidd's mind, and a look of concern made his hairless brow furrow together and he stalked over to the stone devil, and Kidd failed to notice the smirk on Bedros's face, but would never see it anyway. "Clean her knee off."

Bedros's smirk dropped to a frown. "What the hell?"

"Clean her knee off." Kidd repeated the order and glared at the stone devil.

"Why the hell should I have to clean it?" Bedros challenged with a glare of his own.

Kidd's glare deepened into a dark scowl, making the stone devil wish he hadn't said that. "Because I'm carrying her, you fucking idiot."

"Then I'll hold her and _you_ clean it off." Bedros suggested simply.

"I think it's poison."

Bedros blinked at him. "And you want me to clean something that you think is poison…"

"Don't devils have some power that resists poisons?"

"That's only in shitty stories!"

"Don't care, just clean off her fucking knee."

"Why do you even care if she has poison on her knee!"

Kidd paused for a brief second. "Because she's a member of my crew."

"And aren't I?"

Kidd scowled. "After all the bullets I wasted on you, I don't think you are right now. Clean. It. Off."

Bedros flinched at the look Kidd was giving him, and hesitantly, he started to swipe the foam from the summoner mage's knee. "Ewe...ewe…_ewe..._" the stone devil whined at the soft and cold goo sticking to his hand.

Kidd rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a pussy."

"You're not the one wiping it off." Bedros glared at Kidd, and the fidgeting knee. "And hold her still, she keeps moving."

Kidd rolled his eyes again; he really couldn't keep her still because she was already in his arms, and with each passing minute the foam on her knee moved, the more her nails dug into his neck since she switched her arms to wrap around his neck tightly rather then grip his shoulders.

"Hurry up before she makes marks in my neck with her fucking nails." Kidd gritted through clenched teeth.

"Why would I do that? She might bite you next, and we all know you would like that." Bedros bit out in a sarcastic tone, which earned him a one way trip to the ground curtsy of Kidd kicking him in the knee.

The world didn't need to know that Kidd would have enjoyed a bite to the neck from the summoner mage. Not because he liked her, just because he was like that.

"Gabriella." Kidd ignored the groaning stone devil on the ground, and turned his attention to his summoner mage. "It's gone."

The summoner mage slowly turned her head away from his neck, and Kidd instantly felt the absent heat from her breath on his skin, and she glanced down at her knee.

"Ah…" she said softly, seeing her skin was clean of the foam. "You…can put me down now…" she mumbled, turning her head away from him as she tried to hide the obvious blush he knew was there.

Kidd ignored the embarrassed summoner mage in his arms, and just gently placed her back on her two feet.

Gabriella evened out the wrinkles in her cloak and then adjusted her hood further over eyes and cheeks, hoping it would hide her blush more, but she couldn't hide what everyone knew was there.

"Great." Bedros grumbled as he picked himself off the floor. "Now that everyone is peachy-keen, let's get out of this stupid hole." The stone devil replaced his fallen hat back on his head, but not before he gave it a quick dust off and then he followed after the red head and summoner mage walking down the long bridge.

Due to the darkness of the room and the limited light of the golden magic orb of Gabriella's, the bridge was a lot longer then any of them had expected, _a lot_ longer. The light flicked on each sneering gargoyle in a different position as they stared down on them and pebbles from above sprinkled down on their shoulders, causing a wary atmosphere to surround the three; the bridge may be safe, but the ceiling may not have been. Then the golden orb basked a decrepit stairwell with light at the other side that covered in a blanket of cobwebs with crawling spiders, darting from the sudden bright light.

"Finally." Kidd grumbled at their way out, and grabbed the stone devil by the back of his vest, tossing him into the cobwebs.

"Hey!" Bedros yelped, stumbling onto the crumbling steps.

"You think I was actually going to walk through that?" Kidd mused with a smirk.

"And you call _me_ a pussy?" Bedros grumbled under his breath.

_Bang!_

Bedros dropped to the crooked ground unharmed, but his hat didn't get out unscathed. The hat floated back down on the ground next to the stone devil, and Bedros frowned when he picked up his cowboy hat, wiggling his finger through the new hole in the front and looking at the matching one in the back. "That wasn't nice." Bedros placed the hat back on his head with a sour look.

"Like I care." Kidd scoffed and walked right passed the scowling stone devil.

Bedros narrowed his red eyes at the back of the pirate captain climbing up the stairs, and then the stone devil quickly scrambled up from his spot on the steps when he saw the light from the orb slipping away from his sight.

The stairwell spiraled upward and the cobwebs laced each step, making Kidd use the stone devil like a feather duster to swipe the spiders' homes away, much to Bedros's displeasure. Then light from the outside slowly started to pour in through cracks, leading to an old wooden door that Kidd opened by throwing the stone devil into the crumbling boards.

Bedros would have said something about Kidd tossing him like a rag doll at the door, but he just remained silent; his hat had a hole, he didn't want his head to have one next because he had the feeling that the next bullet would hit him, seriously.

"Hey Kidd…" Gabriella spoke up as she stepped through the hole in the old wooden door.

Kidd turned slightly and looked over his shoulder.

"What do you think this thing was made for?" she questioned, jerking her thumb back at the stairwell.

Kidd just shrugged; he really didn't care, he was just happy to be out of that stupid place.

Then the sound of boots walking through the grass turned his attention to his first mate behind him.

Killer tilted his masked head in curiosity. "Where have you been?"

"Tunnels." Kidd shrugged.

"How did you get into tunnels?" Killer questioned.

Kidd paused to think. "We fell."

"You and Gabriella?" Killer mused with a smirk, though no one could see it passed his mask.

Kidd glared at his first mate. "It wasn't like _that_."

Bedros would have said: _It **was** something like **that**_, but once again, he liked his head hole-less.

"Right." Killer drew out skeptically and crossed his arms over his chest.

Kidd's glare darkened, and he jabbed a finger at Bedros. "He was there, nothing happened."

Bedros would have said: _Yes, I was there, and it was terrible. I felt like a third wheel. Oh and, something **did** happen_, but for the third time, he wanted bullets to stay with Kidd's gun.

Killer just looked at his captain through the holes in his mask, giving him a look that Kidd seemed to pick up on since the red head started to narrow his eyes into two dangerous slits and opened his mouth to retort back to the gaze, but a high-pitched, girly screech followed by a loud _thump _stopped him.

Kidd knew that screech was _not_ the voice of his summoner mage and he whipped around to see and very, _very _thin girl in a similar cloak on top Gabriella.

Gabriella looked up at the girl with wide golden eyes. "_You!_"

The girl above her rolled her chocolate colored eyes in annoyance. "_You,_ could be a little more excited to see me, you know."

Gabriella just gawked, making the thin girl roll her eyes again, but then her gaze caught onto the men staring at them curiously and a gleaming look sparkled in her eyes with a smile to match.

That just made Kidd and Killer freeze, making the red head hope she was looking at Killer, and the masked blonde pray she was looking at Kidd.

* * *

><p>Cliffhanger? Don't know, but the new character will be named in the next chapter to come.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: Masked man, I like you

First of all, I want to apologize of all the grammar mistakes in the last chapter. I was rushing to get it uploaded in time, but this time I took my time reading over everything; and hopefully I got everything, too.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but OC and plot are mine.

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><p>Chapter 14: Masked Man, I like you.<p>

"Who's the hottie in the mask?"

Killer felt all the blood draining from the skin on his face, turning it to a pale color that rivaled the hue of pure, freshly fallen snow. He felt he couldn't consider his usual skin tone a tan color anymore after he heard those words from the thin girl staring at him with a sweet smile. It made Killer cringe, visibly shuddering as if her words were a deadly disease to his health and that just made Kidd howl in wild laughter even more as he saw the uncomfortable position his first-mate was placed in.

Killer knew pay-back was coming in the very near future. God, he hated karma sometimes.

Gabriella just stared up at her friend and classmate from Calamity's school with large golden eyes, blinking away the shock of hearing her say _that_ about Killer. And she thought that telling Kidd she liked him was bad, but this was probably just as bad. "Err…" was the only thing that she could voice at the awkward, _extremely_ awkward, question.

"Well." The thin girl waited patiently as she sat atop of Gabriella's stomach, her arms crossed while her fingers tapped against her arm, looking down expectantly for the answer to her question.

"Madeline…" Gabriella drew out slowly, finally able to find her voice. "Could you at least get off me first?" It wasn't like the other girl was heavy or anything; she was the same weight of what she looked like: a stick, it was just awkward to have another woman on top of her like this with Kidd laughing like a maniac in the background and Killer staring at them blankly, probably with a pale face behind his blue and white mask.

"_Eh!_" Madeline's brown eyes opened wide and she jumped off Gabriella's stomach quickly. "Sorry 'bout that!" she tittered sheepishly with a nervous smile, grabbing a hold of the ginger's hand, helping her up off the ground.

Gabriella dusted off and fixed her wrinkled cloak then placed the hood over her again since it slipped off when she fell to the ground, but when she felt a face too close to the side of her head, she leaned away from the presence to look fully at Madeline's expecting eyes, still waiting for her question to be answered.

Madeline had a small smile of patience on her pretty face and a look of eagerness in her large brown eyes, waiting for Gabriella to speak. "_Well_."

Gabriella just blinked for a second, trying to remember what the other girl wanted, then when Madeline's eyes glanced over at the two men, her stare lingering on Killer, Gabriella felt bad of the poor masked man. "That's Killer." she pointed to him, and Madeline just stared with a smile, making poor Killer shift awkwardly where he stood. "And that's Kidd, my Captain." She moved her finger towards the still laughing red head.

Madeline stopped staring at Killer, looking back at Gabriella and leaned back in surprise when she heard that, blinking her eyes in stunned shock. "_Captain_? As in Pirate _Captain_? As in Pirate _Captain_ Eustass Kidd?" she shook her head, finding it hard to believe that the ginger would be traveling with _him_ of all people. She knew her friend had control issues with devils, and well, Eustass Kidd was like devil in human form, so she didn't know how this could even work out between the two. "He's _your_ Captain?" she questioned and looked at Gabriella with wide eyes.

Gabriella just nodded slowly with a small pink blush on her cheeks that went easily unnoticed by the other girl.

"She knows who I am, but you didn't?" Kidd spoke up in curiosity to his summoner mage, still chuckling a little from his laughing fit.

"Who _doesn't_ know you." Madeline cut in, rolling her brown eyes and placed her hands on her nonexistent hips. "She probably said it so you would go away or something, or just trying not to stroke that huge ego of yours. She can be like that sometimes."

"Really?" Kidd grinned and looked at his summoner mage, and Gabriella just turned her head away from him to hide the growing blush. "So you _did_ know who I was all the way back then."

Gabriella ignored Kidd and turned back to her classmate. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Madeline gave Gabriella an odd look. "Same as you; looking for the gem."

"So you already checked here."

"Yup, and it ain't here."

Gabriella sighed heavily. "Well, at least I don't have to climb up the mountain now." She looked on the bright side.

Madeline gave her another odd look. "Climb? Just use your magic to summon something that can get you up there. It take's like two minutes tops. That's what I did on all the islands I searched."

Kidd had been turning out the boring conversation about the gem, but when the mention of using magic freely, which his summoner mage didn't do, came up, he snapped back into it. "I thought this Calamity person taught you to only use magic when you really needed it."

Now it was Kidd's turn to get an odd look from Madeline. "She never taught us that? She taught us to use our magic freely and be proud of using it. She'd never say something like that; it's like saying to go waste your talent."

"That's not what she told me." Kidd pointed to his stiffening summoner mage.

Madeline turned her attention back to Gabriella, staring at her with confusion for a second until something rang in her memory. "Oh! That's right! It's different with you be—" she was cut off when Gabriella slammed a hand over her mouth.

"_Don't,_" Gabriella bit out harshly.

Madeline just nodded slowly, understanding that she was saying a bit too much about the ginger's personal reasons of doing things.

Kidd scowled; he wanted to know what was making his summoner mage lie, which he really did _not_ like, especially when she was lying to him, but she was being difficult and now the other girl wasn't talking anymore, but then an idea came to his mind, and a devious grin crossed his lips. Placing a hand on Killer's shoulder, he turned back Madeline and said: "_He_ wants to know."

Madeline's face lit up when she heard the mention of the masked blonde, which just forced a shiver down Killer's spine again, and she pushed Gabriella violently to the ground so she could speak freely again. "Well."

Kidd grinned at his tactics.

Killer scowled from behind his mask.

"She doesn't like to use magic, especially outside our home island because she _is_ Caden's Heir. Caden was a traitor that used summoner magic to cause war, and pretty much destroyed the government of our home. The council is already wary of her since she is his heir because she is the only one in their bloodline to have summoner's magic after his death, so if she were to cause trouble out here, then the council would use that as an excuse to kill her, probably by saying she is trying to cause a world war." Madeline explained.

Kidd's grin fell to a frown.

"Caden was _not_ a traitor, Madeline." Gabriella said darkly through clenched teeth.

"Ah, yes that's right." Madeline nodded, unfazed by the look in the ginger's eyes as she held out a hand to help Gabriella up. "I guess you could say that it wasn't really Caden who started the war; he was only the king on the chess board." She shrugged as she pulled Gabriella to her feet.

"Then who was the player?" Kidd questioned, his curiosity rising in the matter that made his summoner mage go cold.

"It was—" Madeline started, but was cut off by Gabriella tackling her to the ground.

"_Don't say it_." Gabriella hissed through her teeth with a deadly glaze in her metallic eyes.

"Okay, _okay!_" Madeline pushed her off with an annoyed glare. "Just stop cutting me off, _geez_. It gets annoying after awhile, you know."

"Then don't spill a person's personal life and reasons to others like its nothing." Gabriella retorted with a sharp glare as she stood back up on her feet. "Don't you have any shame going around gossiping about other people."

"It's not gossip if you're right here, and I couldn't help it." Madeline said bluntly, pushing herself away from the ground then swiped the dust from her cloak. "You know how I am."

"Obsessive." Gabriella scoffed.

Madeline just smiled a cheeky grin, making Killer's face pale and Kidd to laugh out loud again.

"So, anyway." Madeline moved the subject on to another. "What were you doing, because it doesn't look like you were trying to climb the mountain." She scanned over all the dust and cobwebs still clinging to Gabriella's cloak.

"We fell down a hole that led us to some underground tunnels." Gabriella shrugged as a small blush started to cross her cheeks again.

This time, Madeline did take notice of the blush and her brown eyes started to narrow. "We who?"

"Kidd, Bedros, and me."

Madeline's eyes relaxed to their normal size, but then an eyebrow rose at the unfamiliar name. "Bedros?"

"The guy sitting right behind you."

Madeline whipped her head around to see the stone devil sitting quietly on the ground, looking uneasy about something. "A stone devil?" she looked back Gabriella, giving her a questioning look that meant more than what she said.

Gabriella shook her head.

The Madeline glanced at Kidd, who was looking at them with a confused brow raised.

Gabriella nodded her head shortly as the color red swarmed her cheeks.

"**_Eh!_**" Madeline's eyes opened wide with shock; that explained why Gabriella was okay with traveling with a human devil, but it still wasn't good. So, she quickly grabbed Gabriella's wrist, dragging the blushing ginger to the side. "If you'll excuse us for one moment." She said sweetly to the three men over her shoulder before pulling Gabriella roughly to the side and out of earshot. "Him? Really, _him_?"

"Yeah, so what." Gabriella mumbled turning her head away.

Madeline sighed dramatically. "You really need to _stop_ falling for violent and evil guys, Gabriella. Remember the last two times, don't you? They ended up being assassins trying to kill you, kill you!" she reminded the ginger sharply.

Gabriella turned back, shooting a scowl at the other girl. "This isn't _Regnum carcere__, _Madeline. Plus, if I had known they were assassins I wouldn't have gone out with them."

"So what!" Madeline shook her head. "We're talking about _him_, and he's just as deadly and evil as they were; one of the most _deadliest_ rookies out there! Okay, so he may have an _amazingly_ built body that is to _die_ for, but still! He's evil and violent and probably only wants to use you for your magic!"

"Isn't every man in this world like that." Gabriella retorted. "Evil and power hungry."

"But every man has a good side, too, and he, I know for a fact, is one of the many that does _not_ have a good side within him. _At all_. I know you can agree with me on that one."

Gabriella just looked away guiltily.

Madeline sighed lightly and gave her friend a small, comforting smile. "I'm only saying this because I don't want to see some evil guy try and kill you again. Or the new reason of using you for selfish reasons." She said, patting Gabriella gently on the shoulder. "I may have my weird ways, but you know I care about you."

Gabriella just looked off in the distance, slowly looking back at Kidd, who was giving her an annoyed scowl at the private conversation they were having, but then her eyes fell upon Killer, and she snapped her attention back to Madeline with a narrow glare. "Look who's talking. You see Killer for just a split second and you already fall madly in love with him. And you say I'm bad for just _liking_ a guy."

Madeline jumped at the harshness in Gabriella's voice, but then the shocked look in her face turned into a scowl. "I do _not_ love him, okay. I like him sure. I can't help it if I get attracted to hot guys like that. I mean look at him!" Madeline pointed towards the two men, who gave them confused stares. "He just looks so mysterious with that mask on! You know how I feel about guys like that, plus look at those muscles!" she squealed like a fan-girl, jumping up and down, and Killer just watched with a pale face through his mask.

"So what if he has an '_amazing_' body." Gabriella air quoted; in her opinion Kidd had the better body, but she wouldn't say that aloud. "He's just as evil as his Captain. I mean come on! He is known as '_Human Massacre Machine_' Killer!"

Madeline stopped jumping up and down and glared at Gabriella. "But whose bounty is higher." She challenged, placing her hands on her hips.

"Does that matter?" Gabriella scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If you say it's bad that I just _like_ an evil man, then you must be a hundred times _worse_ for falling in _love_ with one."

Madeline eyes narrowed into a sharp glare of annoyance. "I do _not_ love him, I said I like him, there's a difference, a _huge_ difference."

"Difference or not, you are just like me, so you have _no_ room to talk." Gabriella said bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Madeline huffed, crossing her own arms over her flat chest. "Well, at least I bet Killer has more emotion besides the love of violence, and is actually capable of liking someone back." She said in a factual, snobbish way.

Gabriella scoffed and scowled. "To tell the truth, I think _neither_ of them are capable of having more emotion that doesn't have to do with loving violence." She really couldn't believe she was having an argument like this, but yet here she was; fighting over who had more emotions: Kidd or Killer.

Madeline looked at the scowling, blushing face on Gabriella, and a curious smirk crossed her lips. "Did you tell him you liked him?"

Gabriella stiffened at the question and she turned her head away quickly to hide the embarrassment rising in her cheeks.

"You did, didn't you, and what did he say?" Madeline continued to press with the questions, growing more interested in the ginger's love life.

Gabriella just remained silent, keeping her eyes away from the amused brown ones of Madeline.

"He said he didn't like you back, didn't he?" Madeline asked, smirking at the scowl her friend was giving her.

"He actually said _nothing_ like that at all." Gabriella snapped bitterly.

"But he didn't say he liked you back."

"So what?"

"So then that just proves my point."

"The only way you can '_prove_' your point is by telling Killer you like him, too, and see what he says." Gabriella declared.

Madeline paused, thinking over what Gabriella had pointed out. "Alright."

Gabriella blinked as she watched Madeline turn on her heel. "Wait! I was only kidding!" she yelled to Madeline as she walked calmly back over to Kidd and Killer.

The pirate captain and first-mate looked at the thin, stick-like girl walking back over to them with Gabriella running behind her with a worried look under the shadow of her hood.

"This can _not_ be good…" Killer said slowly through his mask.

Kidd just looked over at his first-mate with a devilish grin.

Killer scowled through his mask at his captain. He really hated karma.

Madeline halted in front of the masked blonde, her hands perched on her hips as she had a serious and straight face across her features. Then taking a single hand, curling it into a fist and brought it to her mouth to cough as she cleared her throat she said: "Masked man." She looked up at Killer. "I like you."

Laughs started to erupt from Kidd's throat as he threw his head back, closing his eyes at the pure humor of it all.

Gabriella slammed an open palm to her forehead in annoyance.

Bedros would have laughed, too, but he didn't know what would happen if he did.

And Killer felt his brain go dead, each and every nerve sparking out as he heard the words. He really, _really_ hated karma.

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><p>So Madeline likes Killer, haha. If you find it weird that she just flat out likes Killer like this, well that is just her character. She's meant for humor, so I hope you found her funny. If not, I still have some work to do.<p>

Also, this will not be turning into a KillerxOC. It's only one-sided, I think you can just tell that from Killer's reaction.


	15. Chapter 15: Stick Girl, I hate you

So, this chapter has to do with Killer, though I think he might be on the OoC side, and I apologize for that, I was kinda aiming for humor in this chapter, so I think it's okay? If not, sorry about it again.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but OCs and plot our mine.

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><p>Chapter 15: Stick Girl, I hate you.<p>

Killer _never_ thought he would _ever_ have thought a single word would _ever_ occur within the deep pits of his overly dead and sparked out brain: _run!_

That was the single word rampaging in his poor already dead brain as he stared at this woman, this woman who looked like a fucking stick that stood before him with a patient look on her face, waiting for him to _actually_ respond to what she had said. Killer was normally a quiet type of guy, using his actions more then words; like if he was pissed, he wouldn't say it, he would use his blades to show it. So, since he was kinda brain dead at the moment, he could not utter a single word to this stick woman. His mind that was turned into a pile of mush was giving him the simplest answer to it all:_** run****!**_

And he was _never_ the type of person who ran from situations. Stupid stick woman, messing with his mind by turning it into muck with a small stupid phrase.

"Well…?" Madeline's eyebrow rose in slight impatience to his long and prolonged silence, and also drawing Killer's brain from a liquid form to a complete solid state so he could think clearly.

Why did it have to be him? A better question, though, would be: why did it have to _her_.

She looked like a stick, and flat out stick. But he was man enough to actually admit the girl in front of him had a pretty face, unlike a _certain_ pirate captain that could not say that about a _certain_ summoner mage that he obviously liked, but wouldn't say anything because he wasn't man enough, but now back to the stick woman and Killer's problem.

She was thin, no curves whatsoever, it was like God had taken a stick and cut out a picture of a pretty girl from a magazine and tapped it to the thin piece of wood. If he were the type of guy looking for a woman, which he wasn't, then it would be a woman that had actually went through puberty and didn't stay in stick form for who knows how long.

So to add it all up, she was a stick, a stick woman with no curves compared to any other woman, especially compared to Gabriella who actually had a body. Yes, he would admit, though not aloud, and especially not to that _certain_ pirate captain, that Gabriella had curves and was pretty. And he could admit this because he was a man, unlike that _certain_ pirate captain.

Killer could clearly see that Gabriella had curves, even through that cloak she always wore and he could really tell she had curves that day he found her and Kidd in a pile of coats, one of the reasons why he thought Kidd was trying to '_get some_' and then probably use the excuse that it was raining and that's why they were late to getting back to the ship or something. Later he found out that it was because, in Kidd's words: "_She was being a fucking girly pansy, pansy._"

He sighed, why did Kidd still have to call him _that_? Just because he had long hair didn't make him a pansy.

"What was that?" Madeline looked at him oddly, cupping her ear with a single hand.

Killer sucked in his breath. Shit, she heard that? All he did was sigh, but she could have thought he said something, but the mask muffled it.

Madeline coughed into her closed fist again when she realized that he didn't say anything, so she continued to speak. "Are you going to response or will I have to repeat it?"

Killer's brain started to blow small fuses that caused a lack of messages to his veins to pump blood, and his face paled as he started to remember what she said only moments ago.

"So, I'll repeat it." Madeline declared simply. "Masked man, I—"

Killer luckily didn't get to hear the end of the dreaded phrase again as his mushy brain kicked him into over drive with one thought:_** RUN!**_

And he raced back to the ship with only the sound of Kidd's hysterical laughter ringing in his ears. God he _hated_ karma.

"Killer?"

A voice drew him from his slight panting and he looked to see the ship's second mate. "Yeah…"

"What happened? Is Captain alright?"

"Oh, he's _prefect_." Killer spat with sarcasm dripping from his words like venom.

"Ah," the second mate decided to leave it at that and continue on with more pressing matters. "The log post is set and we need to start getting ready to leave port."

"Then start getting ready, as soon as Kidd comes we'll leave."

"Aye." The second mate nodded and turned on his heel to spread word of the orders.

Killer on the other hand, did not stay to help with anything, one because he was the first-mate and two because he really was _not_ in the mood, and with a sigh, he headed to the galley for beer; because beer fixed everything, and he was going to need _a lot_ of it. After the much needed rise in alcohol for his blood, Killer went back out onto the deck, though a bit more tipsy then usual. But when he opened the door, he felt his veins run cold and sobered him up completely as he saw the horrid sight of…_her: _God's walking stick with a tapped on picture.

"_Hey!_" Madeline instantly noticed him stiffening in the doorway and she glared at him with curled up fists on her hips. "You didn't answer me back there!" she scolded sternly, acting like he was supposed to walk over to her.

Killer just blinked, feeling his face going numb, but he was able to say one word. "_**Kidd****!**_" he shouted when he couldn't see the red head in his line of view. He felt so out of character for yelling like this. It so wasn't like him.

"At the wheel," was the response and it was laced with chuckles.

Killer ignored the scowling stick woman and rushed up to Kidd with a scowl of his own. "What the fuck?"

Kidd just chuckled some more before turning his full attention to his first-mate. "Yes?" He inquired with amused eyes.

"What the _fuck_ is she doing _here_?" Killer elaborated with a growl, jabbing a finger towards the stick woman, who was blinking at him with a confused glare.

Kidd just shrugged. "She's also a summoner mage, one that _actually_ uses her magic, how could I pass that up? Now I have _two_ mages, whereas the smug ass Trafalgar only has _one_." He smirked at the thought of getting the upper leg on his rival.

"_Bullshit_." Killer snapped. "That's not the only reason."

Kidd let out a short, grunt of a laugh. "You're right." His grin widened. "It's payback time."

Killer really, _really hated_ karma.

* * *

><p>Killer was stiff throughout dinner that night, since he was being stared at by a stick with googly eyes for <em>far<em> too long, and what made it worse was the fact that Kidd was finding it all too funny, getting the most of his payback when he saw the position the masked blonde was in. Madeline was gazing into his mask, trying so hard to bore a hole through it so she could see what was on the other side, and that made Killer _extremely_ uncomfortable. But luckily, Gabriella was holding the other girl by the shoulder before Killer got tackled to the floor and she sent him a look of compassion, showing that he still had someone on his side.

At least someone cared, not that he cared, but Kidd did.

Killer noticed the dark scowl that Kidd shot him when he saw Gabriella look at him with such a face.

_Interesting…_

"So, Killer."

Killer cringed at the voice of the stick woman.

"You still haven't answer me."

Killer answered that by abruptly standing up from his seat, making the legs screech against the wood, and followed by the sound of his boots stomping out of the room and Kidd chuckling deeply.

Killer needed to do something that would get his mind away from the terror of a stick, which he felt was ego blowing since he was running away from a girl he could literally break in half. So, to get his mind away from everything, he worked out. Lifting weights caused him to forget about all that had happened since his mind was focused on the heavy pounds in his hand and curling and uncurling his arm over and over again; it was peaceful. Then small taps made his blood run cold and he was about to throw the dumbbell in his hand at the incoming female, but when he looked up he saw that it wasn't the stick woman, but rather Gabriella, and he relaxed, holding onto his weight.

The summoner mage sat down on one of the empty work benches across from him with a small smile. "Hey…"

Killer just grunted his hello and went back to curling his arm, gripping the weight tightly in his hand.

"So…" Gabriella started slowly, snaking her hand into the hood of her cloak so she could rub her neck sheepishly. "About Madeline…"

Killer stopped what ever he was doing, because he seriously just forgot he was holding a heavy weight in his hand, and stared at her.

"So, I'm really sorry about her, like _really, really, really_ sorry." Gabriella stressed her apology.

Killer could really only stare at her quietly.

Gabriella coughed into the awkward silence. "Madeline has always been like this." She started to explain. "She likes that 'mysterious' type of guy, so your mask was the thing that stuck out to her like a moth to a beacon of light."

"And how do I zap that moth." Killer bluntly asked.

"Get that moth a new light, of course." Gabriella answered shortly.

"That sounds easier said then done." Killer scoffed.

"Just find her another 'mysterious' man with an 'amazing' body." Gabriella suggested. "And she'll be off you in two seconds flat."

Two seconds and that stick woman would never bug him again. That sounded like a blessing, but harder then it looked. How was he going to find another guy with…with all those _needs_? He didn't keep track of crap like that; it would pose too many questions from others of why he did that. If she wanted a man in a mask, then he would just put a mask on a guy and put her in front of him, but that seemed like too much work.

"Can't I just shove a picture in her face?" Killer asked.

"Would you want a picture or the real thing?" Gabriella challenged.

Killer remained quiet. She knew the answer.

"Well, anyway, I hope this helped you out a bit." Gabriella said with a small smile. "And I'll help you find that other 'masked man' and keep Madeline reeled in before she tries to rape you."

Killer dropped the dumbbell in his hand when he heard the key word coming from the summoner mage. "Has she raped a man before?"

Gabriella stood up and quickly, evening out the wrinkles of her cloak. "Well, I think I should go now; it's getting late."

Killer's face paled. "Are you fucking serious?" The silence of the summoner mage made him think that the stick woman had actually raped a man. Now Killer wasn't scared or anything, more paranoid than anything that a thin, stick of a woman like _her_ could fucking out power any man in sex to call it rape. It was truly a paranoid filled thought, finding the stick woman straddling him in the middle of the night. He cringed at the thought.

"Hey, Abbie…"

Killer heard the voice of the stone devil, but noticed the distance from the tone calling the name, and when he looked up he saw that Bedros was staring at him rather then looking at Gabriella.

There was a long awkward silence as no one really said anything, but stared at each other.

"What is it, Bedros?" Gabriella spoke up after the long silence.

"Huh?" Bedros snapped from staring at Killer and turned his attention to the summoner mage.

"Did you have something to tell me?" She questioned for elaboration.

"Oh, yeah that's right." Bedros nodded to himself. "Kidd wants to see you."

Gabriella blinked in slight shock at the words spoken to her, making a small pink blush grace her cheeks and she left the room quietly to find the red head.

After the summoner mage had left the room, Bedros let out a long whistle. "Now I know why Kidd was so pissed."

Killer turned to the stone devil, tilting his masked head.

"When Kidd told me to get Abbie, it was like he wanted to rip my head off, but actually it was _your_ head he wants to rip off."

Killer just rolled his eyes at the statement.

Even though Bedros couldn't see the first-mate's face, he could tell by the movement of his head that he was rolling his eyes. "Do you like Abbie, too?"

"Hell no." The answer was quick and true with no force added to it.

He wasn't about to like the girl his captain and childhood friend liked, even if Kidd wouldn't admit to it yet. There was a code for things like that. Whether they were pirates or not, he followed the code, and he wasn't about to like Gabriella considering the fact that he was trying to get Kidd to admit to liking Gabriella, so the answer to the stone devil was obviously a **no**.

"Well, you better tell Kidd that before he rips your head off." Bedros warned.

"Get outta here." Killer snapped, picking up his fallen dung-bell from the floor.

"Seriously, you better."

Killer's response to that was throwing the dung-bell at the stone devil, telling him to shut up _and_ get the hell out of there.

* * *

><p>Killer's brows were twitching into his pillow, half asleep as he felt something run across his bare back. It wasn't a pleasant feeling either. The soft, feathery feeling made him cringe then shutter as the touch remained there. A grunt escaped passed his lips as something slipped on and across his back and he tried to shake it off. The thing just shifted with his movements and something pressed against his sides, squeezing them so it wouldn't fall off. His brows started to twitch even more as the thing started to move forward, leaning against his back, like it was reaching for something.<p>

He started to lazily wake up with a groggy groan, still feeling the pressure on his back and he reached his arms around to whack it off and his hand slapped into something, something hard yet soft at the same time.

His eyes snapped open against the pillow at realization of what he hit: a body, the stick woman.

Whipping around in his bed, he sat straight up, waiting for the thump of her body on the floor so he could get ready to rip the head off the girl, but the sound never came, and when he looked around the dim room, he saw that he was completely alone. He must have been really fucking paranoid that he was having nightmares about the stick woman sneaking into his room and trying to rape him.

A sigh passed by his lips and he reached to the side to get his mask, but when his hand slapped down on the wood of the bed stand, a look of confusion crossed his features. "What…" he muttered in a sleepy tone, turning his head slowly to see an empty small wooden table top.

He blinked for a second against the darkness of the night only with a bit of moonlight peeking through the porthole.

Then it clicked: the stick woman, again.

Instead of a pale look draining the color of his skin, his face stared to bubble with red rage; no one messed with his mask, not even Kidd dared touched his mask, which is why Killer was calling out his captain's name.

"_**Kidd****!**_" Killer roared in a uncharacteristic way, probably waking the whole ship and ocean life under the sea. "**_I'm going to fucking kill you, you fucking ginger!_**"

Killer blamed Kidd for bringing that stupid stick woman on board, but now instead of wanting to avoid the stupid girl that _stole_ his mask, he wanted to find her and gut her then throw her remains back into the sea he just woke up.

He **_hated_ **that stick woman, with a literal burning passion.

* * *

><p>I hope you found this chapter funny, and sorry if Killer was OoC.<p>

And yes, Madeline is that stalker kinda of fan girl, though meant for humor. So I hope you find her funny again, and not a pain.

Also, Tigereye13, in your last review, you brought up the comment about fan girls taking Killer's mask...and I couldn't resist. So thank you for the idea, and for correcting all my grammar errors that I miss. :)


	16. Chapter 16: Into the Jungle

So, I'm going to start up dating His Heir on the same day as Bones, just because they will collide sooner or later, plus I was a bit late with my own personal deadline...but that's my problem.

And hopefully Killer is not as OoC in this chapter, because I made him more violent, yay.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter Sixteen: Into the Jungle<p>

Gabriella just stared; stared at Madeline with unblinking gold eyes as the thin girl stroked the large purple lizard in her arms that was her familiar who was named Russell. "Did you seriously do that?"

Madeline stopped petting her little familiar and gave Gabriella the most forced serious face in the world. "No."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "As your best friend, I know when you are lying." She informed Madeline bluntly. Gabriella had known this girl for years, and whenever she tried to lie, she stressed a forced serious face on her features every time; anyone could tell that Madeline was lying, even if they were blind, which was really saying something.

"Well." Madeline scoffed, forcing her nose to scrunch up slightly. "His mask was nowhere near me."

"Yeah." Gabriella huffed skeptically. "Then how did it get in the crow's nest?"

"Like I should know." Madeline said with another serious looking face.

"She's lying again, Master." Musket commented on the side.

"Musket, zip it." Madeline snapped with a glare towards the winged-goblin.

"Leave Musket alone." Gabriella cradled her familiar in her arms protectively. "He's just telling the truth."

Madeline scoffed. "You have no proof that it was me, for all we know it could have been Bedros wanting to mess around with him, I mean, he is a devil."

Gabriella nodded, actually taking it into consideration, but then she shook her head and snapped her attention back to the forced serious look her friend had on her features. "Oh yeah?" a brow rose in amusement. "Then explain why Bedros would straddle Killer's back in the middle of the night. I doubt he would do that unless he's not telling us something."

The forced seriousness on Madeline's face melted away into a cherry blush with a cheeky grin at the thoughts running rampage through her mind. "Oh my god. That sounds so sexy!" she squealed girlishly like a fan-girl, jumping up and down in her seat.

The look of amusement on Gabriella's face warped into a look of horror and disgust, forcing her to jump from the bed to the little aisle between her and Madeline's bed within the little room they shared, and she whacked the thin girl upside that head repeatedly. "_Ewe! Ewe! **Ewe!**_ Don't even think that! It's just so wrong!" she yelped with cheeks blazing in awkwardness until she stopped hitting Madeline. In a disgusted huff, Gabriella turned on the heel of her boot with what little space there was and stomped out of the room.

The thought was disgusting. She knew that Madeline could be like _that_, she should have known she was going to think _that_ and the say something like _that_ out loud. The mental image made her shutter violently; Bedros straddling Killer…

She slapped her cheeks together, shaking her head violently, wishing the terrible thoughts to disappear into nothing because it was truly a terrifying image that she wanted to go away. God, she could never look at those two together the same way ever again.

"What's wrong with you?"

The sudden voice made her yelp loudly, and she whipped around to look up at the amused face of Kidd.

Not someone she wanted to see just because of everything that had happened between them, but right now, it was better then seeing Killer or Bedros, or worse…both of them together.

"Your face is red." Kidd bluntly said randomly.

"Ceh." Gabriella just rolled her eyes, trying to keep them away from looking at him dead on while she rubbed her cheeks, like she was trying to get rid of the redness.

"Why is it red?" Kidd questioned with an emotionless tone with face to match.

Gabriella stopped rubbing her cheeks and forced herself to look at him; why was he asking that? "Madeline." Was her simple answer.

Kidd's mood turned and he grinned. "She's still talking about harassing Killer?"

Gabriella gave him an odd look. "And you're okay with that?"

Kidd shrugged. "It's my payback towards him."

"For what?"

"None of your concern."

Gabriella just blinked at the response as Kidd slowly turned his head away from her. "Ah, okay." She said in a soft voice. "But anyway," she spoke up louder, gaining Kidd's direct attention again as he looked back at her. "What are we going to do?"

Kidd stared at her for a second, his lips pressed in a thin line of thought, making her stare back at him in confusion, but then she snapped away from it when he answered. "I'm going out on the island; I saw some researchers walking around earlier, that means something of value must be here." He told her. "Do you want to come?"

Gabriella blinked again at the response: Kidd actually invited her to go along with him; that was something she never thought he would do.

"You need to look for that gem you always talk about anyway." Kidd continued.

Ah, right, Gabriella actually forgot about that; how embarrassing. Kidd could be just a distraction to her.

"Okay." She nodded dumbly, realizing that she started to awkwardly rub her cheeks again while talking to Kidd, and when he turned on his heel away from her and to the gangplank, she groaned softly to herself, ripping her hands away from her face; he probably thought she looked so retarded and was laughing to himself on the inside.

"Hurry up." Kidd called over his shoulder with a glare of impatience from her standing there probably still looking like an idiot in his eyes.

A small blush crossed her cheeks and she jogged lightly until she was walking along his side, but then she felt awkward walking next to him for some reason and slowed down her pace so she was walking a bit behind him.

To force away the awkwardness she felt in the past ten minutes, she looked around the island they were docked at. It was a hot, sweltering jungle island, and she couldn't help but feel sweat trickle down her bare skin under her black cloak once they were in the rainforest and away from the breezy port. Pulling at her cloak to as a makeshift fan, she shook off her hood, though she didn't like to have it off because of her pointed ears, but she was dying and the hood was making her brain boil even without all the heat from embarrassment. And due to the fact that she felt she was melting, she was able to pretend to ignore the locals staring at her, wearing only thin layers of light colored clothing, and she figured that they were staring at her _and_ Kidd because they were both wearing thick dark clothing.

"Hmm…" Kidd hummed and stopped walking, scanning the area of jungle huts to find these researchers he saw, but then he turned around when his name was called.

"Kidd." The voice of Killer rang through the large canopy trees.

Gabriella turned around and froze as Killer and Bedros started to walk over towards them with Madeline right behind them as she covered her left eye with a deep frown.

Kidd looked at the thin summoner mage with interest. "What happened to you?"

Madeline pouted. "Killer gave me a black eye." She removed her hand to show the black and blue bruise starting to form around her brown colored eye.

"She deserved it for stealing my mask." Killer bluntly said with a cold look over his shoulder towards the girl.

Madeline's face relaxed into forced serious face. "I didn't take your mask."

Killer scowled behind his mask that he had returned to him this morning. "You're lying through your teeth."

"Now, now." Bedros chuckled lightly. "Let's leave Maddie alone, if she says she didn't do it then she didn't."

Killer whipped around to glare at the stone devil. "She did, and what the hell is up with you giving people nick-names."

Bedros just shrugged. "Her name was pretty long, too. So, I shortened her name to Maddie, what's wrong with that?"

"_So_ many things."

"I don't see how."

The masked blonde and stone devil continued to bicker back and forth over something as stupid as nick-names just because Killer had been in a foul mood since the other night when him mask '_mysteriously_' turned up missing. So, the only one to notice Gabriella roughly pull Kidd away from the small group was Madeline who tilted her head in confusion at the odd way her friend was acting.

"Please, you can't let them go with us!" Gabriella pleaded with red cheeks once they were out of ear shot.

Kidd didn't answer and just stared down at his hand that she was gripping with both of hers. He blinked: she was holding his hand…

It may have not been like_ that_, but still, she was staring up at him with a dark blush, squeezing his hand pleading…for what? He didn't hear what she said; he was too busy staring at their hands.

"What?" he asked, roughly shaking his hand to get rid of hers.

Gabriella pulled back her hands and hid them behind her back as her cheeks started to flare a darker shade of red. "I said: please don't bring them with us."

Kidd stared. Did she mean all of them…? "Don't bring who?"

"Killer and Bedros."

Kidd just continued to stare. If they didn't come then Madeline sure as hell wouldn't come because she had a slight obsession with his first-mate. "Killer comes with me." Kidd bluntly stated; he didn't want to be alone with Gabriella at the moment, not when he was dealing with something important.

"Fine, then just don't let Bedros come." She grabbed his hand again in the pleading way and looked up at him with large eyes filled with...horror? "Please!"

Kidd looked at her for a second, then glanced over to see that his first-mate and the stone devil were still arguing over something, he never really picked up on what it was about and he just stared at Bedros with a scowl before turning back to his summoner mage.

"Why?" he demanded harshly.

The reaction wasn't what he thought it would be as she looked away from him with a completely red face that she tried to cover with one hand while the other still held onto his hand.

Kidd's scowl deepened. "What the fuck did he do to you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "It wasn't him it…it was something Madeline said…" she trailed off, shaking her head vigorously as if to get rid of a mental image.

Kidd's scowl relaxed into a curious one with one hairless brow rising up. "What'd she say?"

Gabriella just shook her head even more with her eyes closed tightly.

That just wanted to make Kidd know even more. "Seriously, what did she say?"

Gabriella stopped shaking her head, and slowly removed her hand from her face, opening her eyes to look up at him. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes." Kidd answered bluntly.

Gabriella let out a shaky sigh, and stepping closer, she stood on her tippy-toes and placed a hand to cup Kidd's ear and whispered.

Kidd at first, looked at the actions with small amusement, but when the words filtered quietly into his ear, he violently pushed his summoner mage away. "_Oh fuck! That's gross!_" he shouted with a look of horror and disgust, making the outside conversation between the stone devil and masked blonde end so they could stare.

"What's up?" Killer questioned his captain with a small tilt of his masked head.

Kidd just snapped his head in their direction with a paler face then normal. "_Bedros!_" he roared and pointed back towards port. "_Get back to the fucking ship!_"

Bedros blinked. "What did I do?"

"_Just go back to the fucking ship!_" Kidd screamed with a look of horror and rage mixing on his face.

The stone devil yelped, and dashed back to the pirate ship to safety before the pirate captain hurt him for an unknown reason.

Killer watched as the stone devil disappeared from sight and then he slowly turned back towards Kidd who was stomping away, and that's when Killer noticed his captain was holding Gabriella's hand while he dragged her away. How could he miss that?

Then a hand was placed in his masked face.

"You know." Madeline started. "This is like a double date, so we should hold hands, too."

Killer responded quickly by whacking her away with his gauntleted hand, making her fly backwards into the mud.

"Yuck…" she whined childishly with a pout, wiping away mud that had splattered all over her tanned cheek.

Killer just scoffed and continued to walk right passed her without a second glance to find his captain and the normal summoner mage that he could actually stand being around.

The masked blonde found Kidd along with Gabriella, and he noticed they were no longer holding hands, and were talking to an old withered man who was dressed like he was about to go on an Amazon adventure through the jungle.

"Why hello there little whipper-snappers." The old man scrunched up his nose so he could look through his glasses, and then followed the length of Kidd's body. "Hmm, not so little now, I believe, huh." He laughed heartily, cracking open one of the many books around him.

Kidd grunted and rolled his eyes. "Can you tell me what you're doing here?"

The old man looked away from his book and up at him with a confused expression from passed the shadow of his hat. "Why do you want to know? Do you want to go on an adventure? The locals here tell me it's not safe to go on one, but is that why you're here, to go on an adventure?" he repeated himself, much to the annoyance of the red head.

"No."

"Then what do you want?"

"What you're looking for."

The old man gasped, hugging the book in his hands to his chest. "How did you know my son and I were looking for something?

"I didn't."

"Oh I see, then silly me, huh." The old man laughed heartily again, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kidd just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Just tell me what's here, old man." he demanded.

"Alright, alright." The old man waved the pirate captain's impatience aside and started to dig through his mountain of books, mumbling something along the lines of '_where are you, you little rascal you_' and that just made Kidd scowl, tapping his foot against the muddy ground while he crossed his arms over his chest.

While the old man looked through his books like a mole and literally disappeared into them, Madeline returned back to the group still with bits of sticky mud on her cloak because of Killer, though she could never get mad at him for it. She noticed the pirate captain and her fellow summoner mage weren't holding hands anymore, but that didn't mean she still couldn't try and hold Killer's. Then she noticed that his hands were covered by the metal gauntlets that had hit her twice that day already.

"Hey Killer." The thin summoner mage spoke up.

Killer just grunted in an annoyed tone, telling her to hurry and speak before he clobbered her again just from talking to him too long for his liking.

"Do your gauntlets come off?" she asked innocently with a smile to match.

Killer saw through the act, and still clobbered her with his metal covered hands, making her drop to the ground.

"Ouch!" she cried, making Kidd and Gabriella look back at them. Madeline rubbed the back of her head where the sexy masked blonde had hit her, but then she felt a warm liquid on her fingers, and when she inspected her hand she saw blood. "You broke my head!"

"You were already broken to begin with." Killer said flatly.

"I agree." Kidd nodded and turned his head away from everyone so they wouldn't see the look of disgust on his face when he remembered what his summoner mage had told him.

"Ah, ha!" the old man popped out of the mountain of books, holding one over his head in triumph and he scurried down the hard-covered slope to the group of pirates, but then stared when he saw the bloody Madeline. "My dear, are you alright? Did hammers rain down from the sky while I was away? If it did, good thing I was within the safety of my books."

Madeline just pouted, clutching the back of her head.

"Don't worry, dear. My son is a doctor." The old man said gently, and then turned around to a tent hidden between a few trees. "Gregory! Get your buttocks out here! There is a young lady out here bleeding to death!"

There were rushed footsteps against the mud, making a quick sloshing sound and then a young man in a medical lab coat hurried out passed the tent's flaps with a look of concern, but then his face paled when he saw Kidd standing before his father. "Pa…" he said in a nervous voice. "Do you know who you're talking to…?"

The old man blinked. "No, why? Is it important?"

Gregory looked at his father with a bewildered expression crossing his pale face. "That's Eustass Kidd…"

"Really!" the old man gasped and turned back to Kidd, squinting his eyes into two narrow slits to look through his glasses better. "I thought he would be taller…" he hummed a loud, causing his son to slam his forehead with a hand.

Gregory decided just to ignore his father and cautiously went over to Madeline, going the long way around Kidd, and helped the bleeding thin summoner mage from the ground and over to his tent for treatment.

"Now can you please tell me what the hell is here." Kidd demanded harshly with an impatient scowl.

"Ah, yes!" the old man's eyes opened wide when it dawned on him what he was supposed to be doing and he cracked open the book in his hands. "Now let's see…" he trailed off as he flipped through the pages until he smiled, sticking his thumb on the page he wanted, and turned the book around for Kidd to see. "See this is what I'm looking for! It's a blue diamond, it's said that there are only three in the world. A red, yellow, and blue one."

Kidd took the book from the old man, scanning over the pages, but stopped when he felt a pressure on this arm and glanced from the corner of his eyes to see Gabriella was peering down at the page from over his arm. "How do you know it's here?" Kidd ignored his summoner mage and questioned the old man.

"Oh that's easy!" the old man waved his hand, turning on his heel to get more books and flipped through them quickly. "This one says it." He tossed the book into Kidd's arms. "And this one!" another was thrown into the red head's arms. "And this one!" another book went through the air. "And thi—" the old man was cut off when he heard his precious books fall to the ground and he turned around to see a very pissed off Kidd. "Now why did you go and do that? You're the one that asked the question."

"Just tell me the worth of the stupid diamond before I kill you."

Surprisingly, the old man didn't get scared, and only sighed. "It's a priceless gem by itself from what my research tells me, but if you were to find all three then it is said that it leads to a treasure most grand, though not as grand as One Piece, mind you. Though we don't know what One Piece is like so—"

Kidd tuned out the old man jabbering away over One Piece, not that he wasn't interested, but rather because he had a diamond to find, and he turned back to give Killer a sly grin. "Go tell Blaze he's in charge, then meet us at the jungle entrance."

Killer nodded and ran off back to the ship.

"Who's Blaze?" Gabriella blinked with a small tilt of her head.

"My second mate." Kidd answered shortly while he started to walk away from the old man who stared to talk to himself.

"You have a second mate? And who is he?" Gabriella followed after him.

"Almost every crew has one, at least the bigger ones, and he the tall pale one with blue hair." Kidd told her simply.

"Oh, the zombie guy, I didn't know that was his name." Gabriella tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"It's not his real name, rather his nick-name." Kidd corrected.

"Why's that?"

"It's just the way he fights, most of my crew have nick-names." Kidd shrugged. "Even Killer."

It seemed logical to the summoner mage; she figured that only parents with major issues would name their kid Killer, but then another thought dawned on her. "Is your name a nick-name?"

Kidd just looked over his shoulder and grinned and just kept walking.

Gabriella blinked. "Hey! Wait!"

* * *

><p>"Ugh!" Gabriella yelped in disgust, hitting her cloak as she felt something pinch her skin.<p>

"What is it?" Madeline asked through her multiple bandages wrapped around her head to cover her wounds courtesy of Killer.

"I don't know…" Gabriella's brows furrowed together and she slipped off her cloak to and pulled up her shirt to see her stomach. "Ah, gross." She muttered, looking at the large, flattened bug with splattered guts on her skin.

Madeline's nose scrunched up at the sight and she turned to pull a leaf, one that wasn't poisonous, from a nearby bush, handing it to her fellow summoner mage.

Gabriella gladly took the leaf and started to wipe away the bug from her skin until it was clear again and then tossed it aside, but the she had the feeling she was being stared at and she looked up seeing Kidd watching her like a hawk. "What?"

Kidd snapped from the daze he was under. "Are you done?" he questioned with a forced harsh voice.

Gabriella tilted her head in confusion on the stress coming from her captain, but she didn't get to comment on it when the ground began to shake.

"What the fuck?" Kidd whipped his head around in the direction of where the rumbling was coming from and started to head over there with Killer right behind him.

Madeline gave Gabriella a questioning look, and Gabriella could only shrug and follow after her captain and the first-mate.

"What the fuck!" Kidd repeated, but his voice had more of a shocked tone to it, making Gabriella look curiously around his large coat.

Her eyes went wide. "What the hell! You have to be kidding!"

Killer sighed. "Oh Lord, not again…"

Madeline blinked. "What's going on?"

* * *

><p>Can you guess what it is?<p>

So, I needed to name some more of the crew, because they are bound to show up more and I just can't call them on what they look like, and since we don't know the Kidd Pirates other names I gave them nick-names, so that when their real names come up, I don't need to edit. Smart thinking, huh?

Now, I don't know if Killer is a nick-name or not, but it just went along with the nick-name thing I had going on. Also, I'm not giving Kidd a nick-name, I know he acted like his name was a nick-name, but its was supposed to be one of those '_I'm-going-to-be-a-jerk-and-not-answer-you_' moments.


	17. Chapter 17: Clan Leader

I'm really shocked with all the reviews I got in the past two days; almost all of them are in a different language. That is so cool. I translated the Spanish ones with help from a friend (thank you RobinFleur 194) but the other ones I had to use the translator on google, which doesn't work to well, but I got the general idea, and I wanted to say thank you so much. :) It really made my day.

But now, on with the story. This has a fight scene, it's pretty much the whole chapter, so I hope it's okay.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter Seventeen: Clan Leader.<p>

As the four pirates stood at the edge of a clearing filled with mining equipment that gleamed and glistened in the bright, scorching hot sun that just made the body sting with pain because of looking at it, they stared at the whole scene before them. But what really drew the eye were the people dressed in thick black velvet robes that covered them from head to toe in the unbearably heavy looking fabric. That just made the four look at them with sweltering eye, feeling their own bodies rise in temperature just staring at them.

"What the fuck?" Kidd blinked at them all, thinking that these devils, he was pretty sure they were, were the most stupidest beings on the face of the earth. Period.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" Killer stared at the people now noticing the small group of pirates looking at them and stopped their work to stare back them.

"_Why did you stop working!_" a feminine voice barked as all work ceased, making the owner of that voice follow her minions gazes to the tree line and she gasped with a sharp in take of breath. "**You!**" the woman known as Hebe roared, seething in anger when she saw them, but mostly when she saw Gabriella; she was still miffed about being called '_old_' by the younger summoner mage.

"Forget about them." Gabriella snapped at her captain and the first-mate. "Worry about the old whore right over there." She jabbed her finger in the direction of the fuming Hebe who felt greatly offended.

Madeline blinked. "Who?" She felt out of the loop at the moment.

"I'm **not** old!" Hebe stomped her heel into the rock she was perched upon, threatening to break it because of the sharp force. "And I'm _no_ whore, it's _you_ that is the _whore!_"

Gabriella's mouth hung open for a moment at the insult, but then opened further to snap back a nasty retort, but her words were lost as she heard a growl and movement of clothes next to her.

Kidd had stepped forward in a protective, menacing way with clenched teeth as a sharp growl vibrated his throat.

Gabriella just blinked at the way her captain was reacting to the comment, but then she felt a small tug on her arm and she turned to her other side and looked at Madeline's baffled expression.

"Who's the old hag?" the thin summoner mage asked her peer, tilting her head to the side in confusion at the situation at hand.

"_I'm **not** old, you stick!_"

Madeline ignored her. "And why are there Vipera Demons here?"

Kidd's ears picked up on the name, and he snapped away from scowling at the old whore mage and turned to Madeline. "So they aren't devils?"

Madeline scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Summoner mages don't only summon devils, they also summon demons along with bewitched monsters."

Kidd blinked. "Bewitched monsters…"

"Well—" Madeline started, but was cut off by Gabriella's hand.

"No time for explaining right now!" The summoner mage hissed. "We kinda have a problem coming our way."

"Oh yes, a very big problem, honey." Hebe cooed mockingly with a flip of her hair. "My Viperas will kill you if you get distracted, though, they would even if you were paying attention." She laughed elegantly, placing a hand over her chest.

"Fuck." Kidd gritted through his teeth as he turned to scan the army of heavily cloaked demons before him.

Besides the fact that they were heavily out numbered; he wouldn't care if he knew that the enemy couldn't pop out of thin air, but sadly they could, but the real reason was because Gabriella was unarmed, he didn't know about Madeline since he hadn't seen a weapon on her, but that just made everything worse because if the old whore mage was there, that meant diamonds, and the summoner mages couldn't do anything and the old whore mage could because of her stupid enchanted gold necklace. Then something hit him and he side glanced at his own summoner mage as saw that Gabriella was wearing the same thing around her neck.

So she could use her magic.

Then he turned back to the soon to be battle field and looked over his enemies and surrounding quickly, but his eyes locked onto the fact that there were no diamonds insight, only heavy metal equipment. That put a devious grin on his face.

"Madeline." He drew out slowly and he could just hear the thin summoner mage cringe at the demonic sound in his voice. "Can you use your magic?" he asked just to make sure.

She hesitated for a second, staring at the look on his face before she answered with a small, nervous: "Yes…"

Kidd's response was a crackling laugh as he stepped out of the underbrush of the jungle that was shielding him in the shadows. He didn't know what he was up against, but he didn't worry too much about it since Gabriella would have said something to him by now if he needed to watch out for something, and also because she stepped forward with him looking rather confident.

So there were no worries on the red head's face as he stretched out an arm, letting the purple, magnetic sparkles pulse from his palm and the sounds of metal moaned when it wrapped at the force and broke to the call coming from his hand.

The demons looked in shock as the metal flew passed their heads and swarmed the pirate captain who was grinning like a devil when the pieces started to bundle up and stick to his sleeve covered arm to make a large talon-like hand span around the destroyed mining field overhead.

Kidd's eyes looked dark with twisted entertainment. "Let's take them out." He ordered and Killer instantly dashed out.

The blades strapped to his first-mate's hip were out in a flash and connected to his gauntlets just as quick with a small _click_. Killer leaped into the fray of dark cloaked demons, finding that they were just as fast, slithering away almost, just like snakes when disturbed from their nap under a rock.

The demons all flocked away from him, twisting into fighting positions as soon as they were far enough away from the first-mate with deadly looking spinning blades. They pulled out scimitars from their cloaks, decorated with gems of all colors, making Killer hesitate slightly when he saw them, thinking that they were diamonds. But he shook it off mentally when his senses felt a swift movement behind him, and he whirled around, cutting the gut of the demon behind repeatedly as the spinning blade slashed through its stomach over and over. The body stayed in the air, letting blood spattered all over Killer's mask and clothes, turning his attire crimson red, then he stopped his blade and the body hit the floor.

He stared.

The hood of the demon came off and he saw that it was had an odd texture of olive-green skin, it was dotted, like it was scaly. The corpse's eyes were still open wide with shock, the reptilian looking eye with a golden color and thin, black slit through the middle. But what really made him look was the odd tattooing on its bald head; it almost looked like cobra's head.

"Killer!"

The first-mate snapped from his examination just in time to jump from the incoming metal hand that was slamming down to the muddy ground, turning it scarlet red. While airborne, Killer scanned over the battlefield and saw that almost all the demons were dead, and even with Hebe doing her job to summon more, Kidd just killed them all, but that just led Killer to a question. Once on the ground, he looked over to Kidd and passed him to the two summoner mages that weren't doing anything. At first, he thought that Kidd might have spooked them out and they were too stunned to even move, but upon a closer inspection, he saw they looked flustered and were repeatedly shaking their hands with a flick of the wrist, as if trying to get a spark out of them.

They couldn't use magic.

And Kidd was focused on his killing that he didn't even notice that two feet away his mages were doing nothing.

Hell, even Killer was just standing there now, watching his captain murder countless demonic lives with just a flick of his metal wrist downward, crushing ever bone in his opponents' body. Soon the battle field was an ocean of iron liquid and dark cloaked bodies floating in it. The demons had to try and survive against Kidd by running through what seemed to knee-high thick blood.

Killer could only shake his head: Kidd got all the fun. So, the first-mate decided to walk over to the summoner mages to see what was wrong with them as Kidd destroyed everything through his bloody frenzy.

"What's up with you?" Killer asked them over the insane laughing in the background courtesy of Kidd, but the question was more directed towards Gabriella for obvious reasons.

"I don't know." Gabriella gritted out as she waved her hand back and forth frantically, trying to call upon her magic and when it failed, she snapped her wrist one more time with an annoyed huff. "This is unbelievable!" she stomped her foot in frustration.

"I wonder what it is." Madeline pondered aloud, inspecting the front and back of her hand curiously.

Killer ignored the thin summoner mage and focused on Gabriella. "Will it be a problem that you can't use it?"

"It's always a problem if I can't." She scoffed in annoyance, more with the fact that she couldn't call forth her magic rather then with the fist-mate's question.

"I mean for the battle."

"Nah." Gabriella waved it aside. "Vipera Demons are actually pretty weak, they are like grunt minions, they are meant to be killed. So if Kidd just keeps up what he's doing we should all be fine." She glanced around Killer to look at her captain acting like a bloody maniac. "Though, if a clan leader comes, then we are in a bit of trouble."

"Clan leader?" Killer tilted his masked head questioningly.

Gabriella torn her eyes away from Kidd and focused back on the masked blonde. "Well, all minions need a leader, and the leader is the strongest of them all, and a Vipera clan leader's a pretty strong one on the demonic scale. So let's hope one doesn't show up."

"One probably won't though." Madeline added in. "If it hasn't shown up by now, then there obviously isn't one."

"**_Cobr__a_!**" Hebe screech with intense fury in her red, blistering cheeks as she stood trembling atop the rock she was on. "Get your snaky ass out here!"

Then something under the ground started to shake the ground mercilessly and it actually snapped Kidd out of his frenzy with a growl, clearly upset with being interrupted from his fun, but the look of displeasure melted into a baffled frown when his saw the ground bubble up. The blood from battle waved and swayed as something was trying to erupt from the muddy ground, which seemed to give off more resistance since whatever was under the surface that wanted to get out couldn't. But then with a hail of bloody rain pouring down upon the pirates, soaking them wet with the iron smelling mess, they looked up with wide eyes at the snake like creature before them, towering high above them.

It was a giant snake, but the only thing that was different was the fact that it had muscular arms and was upright, the snake tail slithering across the ground until it bent at an angle so the rest of the body looked to be standing. The snake being hissed at the four with its long, curved teeth jetting out with its forked tongue and the skin around its head fanned out to make it look like the being's name: a cobra.

But as soon as the clan leader hissed at the bewildered pirates, it whipped around to send a harsh hiss towards the old whore mage. "What _isssss_ it that you want, human." It hissed angrily with a scowl in his glowing gold eyes. "I _wasssss_ enjoying my nap that you _ssssssso_ rudely interrupted."

Hebe scoffed, folding her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "Just get rid of them so that I can get back to looking for it."

Cobra narrowed his scowl at the old whore mage into two dangerous looking slits. "Don't be _sssssso_ rude, human, I am helping you, _ssssshow ssssome_ respect _towardssss_ me."

Hebe stood firm, tapping the tip of her heels onto the rock with an impatient _tap, tap, tap_.

Cobra hissed again, but then with a roll of his head, he looked towards the pirates. He didn't waste time with words, he knew his mission and that was to terminate the little insects that crawled up from the bushes and what best way to kill a bug when they are distracted. Like a snake snapping out of its coiled body, the clan leader sprung from its hole in the ground, darting towards the enemy while baring his poisonous fangs.

Then he pretty much got bitched slapped in the face with a giant metal hand, sending him flying back into the jungle tree line and his long body collided with a tree which actually forced his body back to coil around it awkwardly.

He was down, but only for the moment, and Kidd could see that because he saw the movement of the clan leader trying to move.

"Gabriella!" he roared, making his summoner mage cringe since she was standing right next to him.

"I'm right next to you, god damnit!" she screamed back, nursing her poor, aching pointed ears since they picked up sound with a great sense them normal ears.

"What's that!" He continued to yell, obviously miffed about multiple things that was on a long list that Gabriella didn't feel like asking about and she continued to bicker with him.

"It's a clan leader, did you not listen to our conversation about it like two minutes ago?" she questioned harshly, placing her hands on her hips.

"No, I was busy." Kidd snapped back mockingly with a scowl forming on his features, but he continued to speak, yell, before she could even retort. "But that's unimportant, just tell me how to kill it."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "We kill it by—" the summoner mage's words were lost when the ground at their feet began to bubble again; the pirates knew what was coming and with a great leap, they all avoided the deadly clan leader sprouting from the deeps like a poisonous plant.

Cobra hissed dangerously with narrow eyes towards the summoner mage, completely ignoring the fact that Kidd slapped him mere minutes ago, and focused on the mage that was about to spill the beans on his weakness. He hissed one more time, and darted towards the defenseless summoner mage.

"_Killer!_" Kidd barked towards his first-mate that was closer to the giant snake then he was, and Killer rushed forwards.

The blades that he had replaced back on his hip were now on his gauntlets again, swirling around until they were nothing but a blurry sphere and he jumped up to swoop down on his target.

Cobra halted his quick approach on the summoner mage, letting her make a dash to the tree lines where Madeline was beckoning her to come over because they would just get in the way, and the clan leader ignored the escape for the moment to defend against the spinning blades closing in on him. He quickly lashed out his hands, and to Killer's surprise, the hand stopped the blades in their tracks without a single drop of blood, but Cobra didn't let the masked blonde ponder over how tough his scaly skin was and he tossed the blades and the man attached to it into the air and flipped into the air after, whipping his tail around to make contact with Killer's side.

Killer grunted at the harsh impact, knowing that there was going to be a bruise and was definitely going to hurt in the morning, but he bit back the burning pain by chomping down on the inside of his cheek and flipping down gracefully to the ground, though his staggered slightly as the pain shot up his spine and back again.

_Ouch._

With the masked blonde out of the way, Cobra twisted around to the still running summoner mage, and lashed out for her to silence her tongue before she said anything.

Kidd had another idea, though Gabriella's cloak was currently with Madeline, the red head saw the tiny metal buckle on the belt around her hips shine in the sunlight, which was enough to send Gabriella jerking away from the deadly grasp of the clan leader about to strike as he opened his mouth wide, crashing his fangs into the ground.

Sadly for Kidd, Cobra saw through the act and tunneled through the ground like mole, following the summoner mage above him.

Gabriella's back collided roughly into his chest, and she cringed when the weapons strapped to his chest rammed into the skin, probably bruising it and she bit her lip so not to let out a yelp, but a sharp inhale still escaped when Kidd wrapped a firm arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

_Awkward._

Hebe, who had been watching this whole time, started to laugh at the look on the summoner mage's face, but Cobra ignored it and jumped out of his newly made hole.

Though Kidd decided to bring back an old childhood game of his when he hit the offending mole popping out of the ground, the only difference was it was a giant snake rather then a mole, but still bloody all the same.

But then a new difference came when Cobra used his body strength to push back up on the metal fist that crashed down on him, making the metal scrapes explode in a rolling wave.

Kidd quickly twisted his head and body to protect himself, and his summoner mage, from the dangerous metal pieces, and he flinched slightly, though it was hard to tell, when the sharp projectiles punctured his sleeve to reach the layer of skin underneath. "Fuck…" he gritted out, ignoring the pain blooming in his arm as he turned to see the clan leader emerging from the pits of the hole he created again, but unscratched.

"The gem…"

Kidd snapped his attention away from the clan leader and towards his summoner mage who was bright red. He groaned: now was _not_ the time for this.

"Look for the gem." Was all she said and hung her head low after he noticed that she was blushing, even with all the blood painted on her face.

Kidd rolled his eyes and ignored her for the time being, looking for the gem she was talking about on the clan leader, but he grimaced. All he saw was scaly green skin and piercing gold eyes, but no gem.

"Time for you to die." Cobra hissed, his tongue flickering out as he slowly slithered over to them, opening his mouth wide as his fangs' poison coated surface gleamed in the sun, but that's when Kidd notice something gleam in the deepest part of the clan leader's throat.

The gem.

Kidd didn't waste time with examining it, and whipped out his gun, ignoring the shock of pain as his arm moved and shot into the open mouth of the clan leader.

Cobra jolted back as the bullet collided with the gem at the back of his throat, letting out a piecing wail as he gripped the neck under his head, and then in a bloody explosion, his body burst.

Blood splattered all over the pirate captain and summoner mage and a mixture of bloody mud followed after as the snake skeleton fell to the ground.

"Kidd!" Killer shouted, racing over to them with bloody blades because apparently Hebe saw that the clan leader wasn't doing so hot and called from more of the snake demons for back up, but the masked blonde took care of that.

Then Madeline, who was watching from the bushes still, dashed out, rushing over to Gabriella. "Are you alright?" she asked as she skidded to a halt in the bloody terrain.

Gabriella just nodded, wordlessly.

Kidd flexed his wounded arm, finding the pain was subsiding and he turned to his first mate with a grin. "Still one more left."

"Sorry, but that's a negative, deary." The mockingly sweet voice of Hebe made Kidd scowl and he looked towards her. "But I still have one more trick up my sleeve." She informed with an innocent smile and snapped her fingers together, making the mud crack in certain places to reveal a glowing purple light.

"It's an enchanter's circle!" Madeline cried, jumping away from some mud that cracked violently next to her and covered her eyes as the bright light shown in her face. "No wonder we couldn't use magic!"

"That's right, sweetheart." Hebe chuckled and flipped a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder. "I was told be come prepared this time. Now it's time to send you off." She informed smugly, and then golden glow engulfing her hands and the pirate group disappeared from the battle field.

* * *

><p>Gabriella was dressing the wound on Kidd's arm by a small creek they had found. The old whore mage had sent them deeper into the jungle and the two summoner mages said that the effects of the enchanter's circle lasts a few hours, so they couldn't use their magic. So they wandered around, trying to find anything of use and that's when they found the small creek.<p>

Madeline luckily had a small medical kit within her bag strapped to her hip, and quickly handed it over to Gabriella so her peer could fix up Kidd, then the thin summoner mage turned to Killer, asking him to take off his shirt so she could see the bruise.

Killer was silent, but on the other side of his mask he was scowling and he sent a quick punch to the stick of a woman and walked away wordless.

So now, Madeline was sharing the medical kit with Gabriella, trying to nurse her new black eye.

"There…" Gabriella murmured as she knotted the tie on Kidd's arm, slowly looking up at him, but she was expecting him to be looking away or at least be watching her work, but instead, he was staring right at her. She couldn't help but shift on the rock she was sitting on, staring back at him.

But then Kidd had enough of the silent conversation and stood up abruptly from the rock he was resting upon, grabbing his coat along the way and pulling it over his bandaged arm.

"Are you okay?" she blurted out, but then felt a bit stupid with the fact that she had meant his arm and not whatever was bugging him.

"Yeah." Was Kidd's short response. "Now let's move, we need to find that diamond before the whore does."

Gabriella blinked. "But—"

"No buts." Kidd countered and continued to move with Killer right behind him.

The walk was silent, even Madeline who took up the rear was quiet even after she was almost left behind at the creek. They all felt something was off about Kidd, making them wary that he would snap at any second because of stress or anger, no one knew, not even Killer did when he usually could read his captain like an open book most of the time. It was strange to say the least, but what Kidd was thinking about was soon lost as Gabriella fell to the jungle ground on her knees.

The summoner mage just sat there on the back of her legs, her shoulders the only thing moving as she hung her head low.

Kidd let her stay like that for a minute, but then he got annoyed that she wasn't moving. "Get up."

"No."

Kidd stared. "What the fuck, I told you to get up." He snapped, the obvious pent up anger leaking out.

"I'm too tired to get up, it's hot, and I just want to sleep." The summoner mage whined, throwing her head back with a moan.

Kidd scoffed: he should have known she would complain about the heat since the jungle was like an inferno, but Madeline saw something that was off.

Slowly walking over to her peer, she placed the back of her hand to Gabriella's forehead, but then instantly pulled it back, shaking it violently. "She's burning up."

Kidd's annoyed look turned into a frown, and he wordlessly walked over to his summoner mage, placing the back of his hand to her forehead, and pulled back just as fast: she was boiling, really bad.

"She's sick." Madeline informed, though Kidd may have been no doctor, he could tell that much. "We need to get back to the village."

But since Kidd was no doctor, he also didn't know if it was sickness or if she was just burning up from the intense heat. "No, we keep moving."

Madeline looked at him oddly. "Then how are we even going to move her? She can't walk."

Kidd took that into consideration already and kneeled down next to his summoner mage, draping an arm over his shoulder then shifting his body so her chest was against his back. Grabbing a firm hold of her thighs, Kidd hoisted her up on to his back and stood up. "Problem solved."

"And what if she throws up on you?" Madeline challenged.

Kidd scowled. "Then I'm going to fucking drop her." Though he didn't want to, he had the feeling that it was going to be the response if she did.

* * *

><p>Bloody violent action. How was it? Action scene aren't my best area in writing, but one can only improve it one writes it.<p>

Also the Vipera Demons are based off Yuan-tis, which is a Bioware monster. I was trying to think up a good thing to battle in the jungle and that's when I remembered that these wonderful snake people lived in the jungle, so I thought it would be a cool idea. Though I changed it up a bit because real Yuan-tis don't die because of a gem in the back of their throat, and they are definitely not weak either; they are like assassins pretty much. Oh and the biggest thing is probably they aren't demons.

When I was creating them I was going to use the Latin word for snake, which there are a few, and the one I was going to use was Draco. Yeah...I couldn't stop thinking of Harry Potter, so I changed it to Vipera.


	18. Chapter 18: Something so Wrong

I was amazed that _His Heir_ got over 20 reviews in a single week! That's just crazy. So, I would like to thank everyone for those, it was very nice of all you guys and I translated all those in different languages (thank you RobinFleur194 for translating for me again, too).

Now Trafalgar Riley, you're giving me many, many, _many_ ideas. Though, Bedros going for Killer seriously...I don't know, but I think it would be so funny if that did happen.

Just picture it: Bedros and Madeline on deck, in a heated argument over their sexy masked blonde and who he loves more. But they can't decide for themselves who Killer loves, so they turn to him with questioning looks that says '_who is it_' and Killer responses: "Bedros." and in the heat of the moment, Killer rips his mask off and embraces the stone devil, and they make out with loads of sexy passion on the deck that makes them fall to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs, and everyone has nosebleeds because of the pure sexiness of it all, but Gabriella faints in the awkwardness and Kidd just stares with a _**wtf **_look. Oh, and Madeline has a heart-attack because she thinks its so freaking _hot_.

Yes, that would be funny, but probably won't happen. Because, I'm sorry, Bedros is not like that. But, there will be sexy moments (for humor) between the stone devil and first-mate for sure! Just because you gave me the idea, thanks for that. ;p

Tigereye13: I just noticed that both arcs of _His Heir_ and _Bones_ have to do with sickness. I'm serious. I just noticed. Oh my.

Now, for this chapter. May be a little OoC for Killer and Kidd, but it's for humor reasons, sorry if people don't like that.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eighteen: Something So Wrong<p>

Kidd tried so hard, so _very_ hard to ignore _it_. It was hard to ignore it though, _terribly_ hard to ignore _it_. He just couldn't ignore the feathery feeling brushing against his bare chest over and over again. Why, oh why did Gabriella have to sling her arms over his shoulders just in the right place so that when he walked her fingers would graze over his skin.

Terribly hard to ignore. Since it made him _want_ to drop her, then _not_ drop her because—

He shook his head violently and went back to his original train of thought of how hard it was to ignore the fingers brushing against his muscular skin.

_Very_, terribly hard to ignore.

To drop her or not, that was the question.

But the question was answered for him when Gabriella all of a sudden went from being just a limp, dead-weight on his back to struggling against his grip on her thighs and pulling her fingers away from his chest to shove her hands to his back, making as much distance as possible.

So he let go, but he kinda hoped she wouldn't fall in the mud.

And lucky for Kidd, she didn't and landed on her feet firmly then quickly darted to the side into some thick underbrush, throwing up her insides out violently with harsh coughs that caused her to shutter uncontrollably with each wheeze.

Madeline rushed over to her peer's side, rubbing and patting her back in comfort as Gabriella leaned over, coughing and shaking uncontrollably. "I think we should stop for now…" Madeline said slowly, turning back to Kidd and Killer with a deep frown of concern. "It's getting dark anyway."

Kidd looked up passed the giant tree-tops of hanging vines and leaves, seeing that the light of day was slowly fading away to orange rays peeking through the holes that rained down on them, then he turned back to the two summoner mages with a frown. Gabriella looked deathly pale, her face a sheet of white pain, clutching her stomach as her brows knitted with all the discomfort of being sick in an extremely hot place. Yes, Kidd knew that Gabriella wasn't acting like this because of the heat, but was because she was actually sick and now the heat was adding to it negatively. It made Kidd wish he had tried to find a way back to the village rather than look for the diamond. The huge, big, flashy, and priceless blue diamond that was hidden deep within the jungle island; according to the old man's research, that is. How could he give up on getting that? So, he decided to _try_ compromising for once.

"Fine." Kidd finally sighed out, closing his eyes in slight frustration.

Madeline nodded, and then turned back to Gabriella, draping an arm over her shoulder so her shaking peer had something to lean against for the time being. "We should probably find somewhere where we can clean off. Being covered in blood and sweat in this place isn't the best idea when you're sick, eh?" She said in a soft, comforting whisper as she fumbled inside her cloak with her free hand. "Russell." She called, and then a purple lizard slithered out, climbing up to sit perched on her shoulder. "Go with Musket and find a watering hole somewhere so we can freshen up, kay?"

The purple lizard, Russell, bobbed its reptilian head up and down, and then disappeared into Gabriella's cloak that was swung over Madeline's shoulder and pulled Musket out.

The winged-goblin must have heard the plan because when Russell pulled him out, Musket quickly grabbed up the purple lizard in his arms and zoomed off into the trees.

"So," Madeline spoke up, turning back to Kidd and Killer. "What should we do for camp?"

"Find something dry and sleep on it." Kidd grunted, rolling his eyes at the obvious.

"What about food? Campfire?" Madeline questioned, scanning the area to find a place to place her sick peer for the moment while they waited on the familiars.

"Easy." Kidd scowled. "Go and find your own food, and if you get cold make your own fire."

Madeline tilted her head questionably to the side, taking in the information Kidd told her with deep consideration. Then a cheeky smile crossed her lips.

Killer scowled, knowing what that cursed smile meant.

Kidd snickered, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

Killer shot Kidd a harsh scowl through his mask.

That just made Kidd snicker again, his grin widening.

"So." Madeline spoke up again, her smile turning innocently sweet. "Does that mean if I get cold I can cuddle with Killer?" she asked sweetly.

Killer's instant response was rushing over to her and beating the shit out of her, but lucky for the stick of a woman, the two familiars came back.

"We found one, we found one!" Musket cried happily, latching onto Madeline's cloaked shoulder, pulling her towards the trees where they had appeared from.

Madeline stumbled a bit on her feet, Killer hoped that she would fall and hit her head on a rock, but sadly she didn't, and she was dragged lightly to the trees, disappearing from view.

And when the summoner mages were out of ear shot, Kidd turned to Killer, trembling in uncontrollable laughter.

"Shut up!" Killer hissed dangerously through his mask at his laughing captain. "It's _not_ funny."

Kidd continued to howl in wicked laughter until his breath was worn out and he became a wheezing mess. "Actually, yes it is." He chuckled, the large grin still present on his lips no matter how out of breath he was.

"Wouldn't be funny if you were in my shoes though." Killer countered with a snap.

"But I'm not." Kidd replied, leaning back against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest with a large smirk.

"Obviously because the girl that likes you is actually normal." Killer scoffed.

Kidd's smirk faltered sightly and he began to shift awkwardly where he was.

"I mean," Killer didn't notice the change in his captain and continued. "Gabriella doesn't look like a _fucking_ stick. Gabriella has the whole package: bust, butt, face and _normal_ personality." He listed off to the silent red head. "I mean Gabriella is actually _attractive_."

The stressed word made Kidd stiffen and glare mildly at the masked blonde.

Killer, in his fuming rant, still didn't notice the reactions coming from his captain and he turned to a small sapling, ripping his gauntlet off to the muddy ground then ripping the small, thin tree from the roots then shoved it into the space between him and Kidd. "See this, what is it."

Kidd relaxed slightly as the conversation took a new turn, but still gave his first-mate an odd look. "A tree…" he answered slowly.

"Exactly." Killer nodded his masked head. "This is a thin, little tree that is thicker than that stick woman called a person, no, I mean a _thing_." He corrected himself, shaking the small sapling violently. "And see how this tree is thicker then _it_."

Kidd just shrugged; Killer was exaggerating just a bit too much.

"Well, this fucking tree is more attractive then _it_, and I would rather fuck this tree," Killer shook the sapling in his hand again, waving the leaves in Kidd's face. "Then that _thing_, that just went through there." He pointed with the sapling at the small opening where the two summoner mages had vanished to.

Kidd just blinked and stared at his first-mate with a blank look. "That sounds like a personal problem." He finally said, pushing away from the tree he was leaning against and turned his attention where Killer was pointing the sapling.

Killer pulled the sapling back, holding it threateningly in his hands like a baseball bat, debating whether or not in the heat of his anger if he should hit Kidd, captain or not.

"You know…" Kidd's wondering voice slowly brought Killer out of his early stages of frenzy and he lowered his sapling to his side. "…there are naked girls probably bathing only two minutes away from us." He turned back to his first-mate with a sly grin.

"Maybe if it was just Gabriella," That made Kidd stiffen slightly. "But there is a fucking stick there. I'm not about to go peeping on a fucking stick I hate." Killer said in a flat tone. "I don't want to be scarred for life, you fucking ginger." He stated dryly and threw the sapling at his captain, why, because Kidd suggested such a disgusting thing, that's why.

* * *

><p>Madeline was carefully holding her satchel over the water, rummaging through the contents until she found a small bag. With a victorious smile, she pulled the bag out then tossed her satchel to the rocky bank of the small watering hole with a little waterfall pouring down a steady stream of smooth, clear water.<p>

"Here," Madeline started to wade through the water reaching up to mid-thigh to Gabriella, who was lounging in a small, smooth rock area; like it was a reclining chair. "This a mint-tin root." Madeline said simply, reaching into the small bag and pulled out a curling white root.

Gabriella plucked the root from Madeline with her fingers and inspected it with curious eyes. "Now, what do I do with it? Eat it?"

"Chew on it." Madeline answered. "It has a mint after taste, it will make your mouth feel better." She explained, waving Musket over by holding out the bag in her out stretched hand.

Musket flew over cautiously from his perch on a rock, looking at the water with wary eyes and then snatched the bag from her hand and zoomed back to the safety of his rock high above the water.

Gabriella glanced at her familiar for a second, then turned her attention back to the root, and warily placed it between her teeth and chewed, and was surprised at the minty after taste, which was nice since she threw up, and that always left a nasty feeling in anyone's mouth.

"Russell." Madeline turned to her own familiar that was doggy paddling across the water's surface like a happy puppy, but then stopped when his master called his name. "Can you go through my bag and find some soap? I think I have a few bars in there."

Russell nodded his scaly head and turned around, swimming quickly to Madeline's satchel on the bank. Once on the solid surface, Russell shook his little purple body like a dog before scrambling into the bag in search for soap like his master called for. With a small chirp, Russell dragged the two bars of soap out using his tail, and with his tail wrapped firmly around the bars, he jumped back into the water with a _splash_ then swam back over to his master.

"Thank you, baby~!" Madeline cooed motherly, patting Russell on the head sweetly as she slipped the soap from his tail then turned to Gabriella. "Here." She tossed the bar to her sick peer.

Gabriella caught the slippery bar of soap in her hand gently so that it wouldn't slip through her fingers. Dipping it into the water, she started to lather the bar to make thick bubbles, rubbing it along her bloody and muddy skin, making the clear water turn a hazy, murky brown with bubbles. Surprisingly, the scent was something outrageous like pineapples; Madeline thought that the exotic scents would attract men, but it didn't and probably never would. But then something else got onto Gabriella's sense of smell, and she sniffed the soap curiously. "Hey Madeline…" she turned to her peer. "What else is in this?" she questioned with a muffled tone because of the root in her mouth.

Madeline stopped washing her body and shrugged. "Just a sleep addition. Nothing big."

Gabriella stopped everything and stared. "Nothing big?" she gawked dumbfounded, the root falling from her lips. "You pretty much put a sleep potion in soap!"

"Don't worry." Madeline waved it off. "It only works on men."

Gabriella's jaw splashed into the water. "Why does it only work on men!?"

Madeline looked over her shoulder with a small smile. "You know why."

"_Madeline!_" Gabriella threw the soap at her peer. "You can't do that!"

Madeline tilted her head to the side. "But it's not like they _didn't_ want it. I just wanted to make sure they didn't go back on their decision. Nothing wrong with that."

"That's so much wrong with that!" Gabriella stood up sharply, but then a shot of pain burst like a bubble at her side and she crashed down to the water with a yelp.

"Gabriella!" Madeline rushed to her peer, going against the high water in a panic. "What's wron—" she gasped, hand clamping over her mouth in shock as she looked down at the large rash bubbling against Gabriella's stomach, side and starting to move its way down her hip.

When Gregory, the old man's doctor son, was patching her up, he told her to be careful because there were many diseases going around the jungle especially a virus that was really bad. Madeline didn't know what the side effects of this virus were, but all she knew is that something was wrong with her best friend, and she did the only thing she could think of.

"_**KIDD!**_" she screeched like a banshee going through bloody murder when she removed her hands from her mouth. "_**Something is wrong with Gabriella!**_"

Almost instantly, Madeline heard the heavy sole of boots crushing innocent plants underneath to meet the desperate call of the thin summoner mage, but when Kidd got there and saw the scene, and sadly, it was only Madeline he saw since Gabriella was hidden by rocks.

"Oh _**fuck****!**_" Kidd's hands flew to his face; Killer was right, it was a scarring image.

"Something's wrong!" Madeline cried, completely unaware of what she just did to poor, poor, poor Kidd. "She has this big rash, and that doctor guy told me that there are tons of diseases going around and there is this really bad—"she stopped when she saw Kidd's back was turned to her. "**Hey!** Are you listening to me!"

"I can't take you seriously when you look like that." Kidd bluntly said.

"But this is serious!" Madeline stomped her foot in the water angrily.

"Can't take you serious like that." Kidd repeated flatly.

"Kidd just come over here!" Madeline ordered, stomping her foot again. "It's easier if you come over here and see her than getting dressed then showing her to you! So get your ass over here!"

Kidd stiffened. This was problematic for him; seeing Gabriella like_ that_, in a good way, or seeing Madeline like _that_ again, and burning his eyes until his brain explodes. Seemed like a clear win.

"Get dressed and come find me." He finally said and walked away.

"Are you kidding me! Really, you want me to waste time when she's in trouble!" Madeline gawked in disbelief.

"Yes." Was the short response.

Madeline stomped her foot for the third time in the water with a growl of frustration at the stubbornness of the pirate captain. "Men. They are unbelievable!" she grabbed up Gabriella in her arms, but then she paused. "Eh, but I still love them…" and then she smiled cheekily. "Especially Killer."

* * *

><p>"I told you so." Killer bluntly said with a chuckle of amusement as he watched Kidd bang his head repeatedly against a tree trunk.<p>

"Shut up." Kidd grumbled between a harsh head bump to another. "And it's not funny, you fucking blonde pansy."

"Actually, yes it is."

Kidd stopped banging his head against the tree and scowled darkly at his first-mate. "You're lucky that you're my best friend, or I'd kill you."

"I feel the same way." Killer spat.

"I'm touched." Kidd mocked.

"You're unbelievable! I hope you know that!" The scream from the thin summoner mage brought the two pirates from their friendly spat to a clothed Madeline who was extremely upset while helping a sick and also clothed Gabriella walk towards them. "It wasn't that hard to walk over I hope you know that."

"Actually, yes it was because no one wants to see you naked, **_ever_**." Killer said in a dry tone.

Madeline scoffed in utter offense. "Rude!"

"So."

"So? So! That's not nice at all!"

"I don't care."

"You should care! I'm like, your girl friend."

"**Fuck no**."

"Okay, stop it!" Kidd barked at the rising conversation that was spiraling out of control. "Now," he turned to Madeline after his first-mate and the thin summoner mage calmed down. "What's wrong with Gabriella."

"Oh, right!" Madeline snapped from her fuming fury and turned to her peer that was leaning against her for support then slowly started to peel up her shirt.

Kidd stared. "What the fuck is that?"

"It's a rash, obviously." Madeline rolled her eyes. "But that's not important, it's the fact that it's what it was caused from and what might happen!"

"What was it caused from?" Kidd stalked over, examining the odd rash swarming his summoner mage's skin.

"I think it's from the bug bite, remember earlier today, well Gregory told me to watch out for the bugs because they spread sickness and things, so I think that's what caused it."

"So she's just sick." Kidd stated, sounding a bit relieved.

"No, she's not." Madeline corrected. "She's not '_just sick_'; she's_ really_ sick and needs to be taken back to the village right now."

"I'll just carry her again, and she'll be fine." Kidd shrugged.

Madeline looked at him like her was completely stupid. "No you cannot just carry her, she needs medical attention!"

"I really don't see what's wrong though." Kidd said truthfully; he wasn't a doctor, he didn't have knowledge on…stuff like that.

Madeline shook her head. "Kidd…" she looked up at him with worried brown eyes, and that made Kidd feel a bit uncomfortable. "There is a virus that Gregory told me that the bugs carry. And if we don't get her checked out then…Gabriella will _die_…"

* * *

><p>So, this was probably a bit OoC like I said at the beginning of the chapter, but I thought it was funny, hope you did, too.<p>

Also, I hope that Gabriella isn't turning Mary-Sue with all this talk about her being attractive, I'm just doing it like a '_compared to Madeline she is'_ kinda of thing, if you get what I mean.


	19. Chapter 19: Kidd's Secret

Thanks everyone for the reviews, they all really made my day.

Also, for the question about Killer being gay, is false. Neither Killer or Bedros will be having any true love-dovey stuff between them or other men. Though there will be stuff that is just meant for humor, but will not go anywhere.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but OCs and plot are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter Nineteen: Kidd's Secret.<p>

What the fuck? Gabriella was dying? **Fuck no**.

Kidd wasn't going to believe that shit for a second. After everything he went through, Gabriella wasn't going to just die on him. She was _not_ allowed to. But when he looked at her, looked at the pain written clearly on her face like big, bright, neon red lights and that rash, the red and blistering mark swarming the skin of her stomach and spreading further and further as the minutes ticked by, Kidd knew that she was going to die if they didn't do something.

But what to do?

He couldn't just give up on the diamond; according to the old man's research, it was the size of his head, which was _huge_. How could any pirate give up on something like that? But then there was Gabriella, he wouldn't be a good captain if he let her die just because of the sake for money. He may be brutal, violent and deadly, but he wouldn't do anything like that to his crew.

What to do, oh, what to do.

"Kidd." The voice of the thin summoner mage brought the red head from his turmoil thoughts. "What are we going to do?"

What did she think he was doing, just standing there and staring at the rash on Gabriella? No he was _trying_ to think of something.

"You're just staring at her." Madeline continued shortly.

Kidd scowled. She needed to shut up for a second, he was trying to think.

"It's either the diamond or Gabriella." Madeline informed him simply. "What's it going to be?"

Kidd ignored her for a second, but then he felt a light-bulb go off. "Both."

Madeline blinked. "It can't be both Kidd."

"Yes it can." Kidd countered. "You can use your magic now. That stupid circle thing had to have worn off by now."

"Well," Madeline rubbed the back of her sheepishly.

Well, shit. That's not good.

"Since there is a huge ass diamond on the island that means the range of it is larger, too. So, I can't use magic because apparently we're close to it as of right now."

Kidd felt everything drop in the pits of his stomach. "Are you serious."

Madeline just bobbed her head up and down.

Kidd slapped a hand to his forehand, completely ignoring his goggles that pinched his palm and slid his hand down his face in irritated frustration.

What was he going to do now? Magic didn't work around fucking diamonds; that was so messed up. Why did it have to be diamonds? Why not something like coal, no one uses coal anymore, especially in the fucking jungle. But no, it just had to be diamonds, and the only way to cancel out diamonds was stupid enchanted gold. It was all whacked up.

But then he felt like brick started to tumble repeatedly down on his head, rattling his brain when he remembered that his summoner mage _did_ have enchanted gold.

God, how could he have forgotten that?

Storming over to where Madeline was still supporting Gabriella, he ripped the thick gold chain from around her neck and shoved it into the thin summoner mage's face. "Wear this and you can."

Madeline just stared at him in confusion.

"Gabriella said this was enchanted gold, and the whore mage said it cancels out the fucked up effect diamonds have on your magic. So use this to get us both." Kidd explained sharply, shoving the necklace further into Madeline's face.

Madeline leaned back with a bewildered gasp, her hands leaving Gabriella and going to her face in shock.

Kidd grunted as he wrapped an arm around his crumbling summoner mage so she wouldn't fall to the ground then he shot a scowl at the gawking thin summoner mage.

"Where did you get this!" Madeline snatched up the piece of magically jewelry in her hands and started to examine it thoroughly with her eyes and fingers.

"The whore mage dropped it the last time we fought her, Gabriella found it and took it." Kidd explained bluntly. "Now enough with the fucking questions and summon something to get us where we need to be."

Madeline nodded hurriedly; looping the necklace around her neck quickly then swiped a golden glowing hand across the air. A fabric ripping sound stretched across the barrier of sound and made everyone jump out of the way as two large and hellish looking dogs darted out of the multi-colored, glowing portal.

The dogs growled menacingly, hunched over as their lips curled up to flash their razor sharp teeth that were tinted a light brown from dried blood. Copper colored eyes locked onto Kidd and Killer, making the dogs let out roaring barks as the thick hair on their backs stood up while their ears went back and their sharp claws dug into the muddy ground when they started to stalk over to the two pirates.

Madeline was quick to pull one of the dogs back by wrapping her arms around its large neck, thus stopping the second in its track as well. "They aren't the enemy." She said calmly, making the dogs relax and turn to a normal composure quickly, which only made them look taller since it forced the thin summoner mage's arms away from the neck she was holding.

"What are they…?" Kidd stared up at the dogs with large, blinking eyes.

"Hell hounds." Madeline shrugged simply, stroking the thick brown-grayish fur on the dog's neck.

Logical: huge dogs that look like that had to be from hell, but Kidd didn't dwell on it and shook his head from staring at the large dogs, turning his attention to Madeline. "Take Gabriella back to the village," he ordered. "Killer and me will go and get the diamond."

A forced straight face was carved into Madeline's features. "I can't do that. Hell hounds will go out of control if a summoner mage isn't with them."

She was lying through her teeth.

Kidd knew that, Killer knew that, hell, even the dogs knew it since their ears perked up questionably and they looked at each other oddly.

Kidd did _not_ have time for this right now.

"Fine, whatever." Kidd waved it off with a look of frustration crossing his expression, trying to ignore the scowl and dark aura coming from his first-mate. "Do whatever it is that you need to, just get the fucking diamond. I'll take Gabriella to the village."

A cheeky grin crossed Madeline's lips. "Kay~" she sung out sweetly, rolling back and forth on her heels.

Kidd scowled at her. "Don't ever do shit like that again." He snapped. "It's fucking annoying."

Madeline stopped shifting her heels and brought fingers to her forehead, doing a mock salute towards the pirate captain with a large smile.

Kidd just rolled his eyes and carried Gabriella over to one of the dogs and tried to climb up, but was proving difficult because he couldn't climb with someone in his arms. Luckily, the hell hound sensed that frustration coming from the grumbling red head and got down on its stomach so Kidd could slide onto its large and muscular back. Once on the dog's back, it stood back up, and Kidd grunted at the shift in movement.

God, he felt like he was on a huge fucking horse rather then a large dog.

With a small shake of his head to get rid of the weirdness of it all, Kidd was about to go and try to find his way back to the village, but then he felt something grab his ankle.

It was Killer, and Kidd knew he was pissed.

"I fucking hate you, you fucking ginger." Killer declared dryly.

Kidd just shrugged his shoulders, shaking his first-mate's grip from his leg, and then rammed his heels into the side of the dog, making it dart into the jungle.

* * *

><p>Bedros couldn't help it, but he just <em>had<em> to.

Sneaking around the ship at night may have been a bad idea when Blaze, the second-mate, was watching him like a hawk all day, but he just could _not_ help it. It was like he _needed_ to do this.

All day, Kidd's second-mate had him running around everywhere, doing all sorts of odds and ends tasks; like taking a crate of something to a storage room or getting an empty crate out of a storage room; a rather boring day in truth. But he did what he was told, and every time he would go to and from the storage room; he trotted passed Kidd's quarters.

After about five times, he started to get ideas whenever he saw that the door was slightly open and all signs of the red head were in the jungle.

He was curious about what was going on in the deepest parts of Kidd's brain. Who wouldn't be. Sure, he was violent, brutal, and extremely deadly with a gun; his hat was a firsthand victim of that. That showed easily without a journal telling him.

But what really interested him was how Kidd felt about Gabriella.

There had to be _something_.

So now, Bedros tip-toed into the vacant bedroom of Kidd's, sneaking into it quietly just in case and was careful not to touch anything so the redhead wouldn't suspect anything was amiss. The stone devil started his search by looking through the drawers of Kidd's desk, but all he saw was sea charts and navigation notes and the drawers were filled with the same thing.

With a grunt of disappointment, he closed the last drawer slowly to make as little noise as possible. Then turning on his heel, he stalked over to the book shelves that were surprisingly in the pirate captain's room. The shelving was only filled with books and books on the sea, islands, even…history books…and the stone devil was surprised to see so maybe books in Kidd's room over all.

But he pushed that aside and continued to strain his eyes to find something that looked like a journal, but no luck.

Bedros let out a small huff of frustration, placing a hand on his hip while the other rubbed his chin in thought. He thought that there was nothing else to search in the red head's room, and was about to go check Kidd's office, but then his eyes locked onto the moonlit piece of wood next to Kidd's bed. With a smirk, the stone devil strolled over to the nightstand, opening the top drawer, and bingo.

Bedros was a happy winner when he saw the black, leather bound book: Kidd's journal.

He quickly flipped opened the book, thumbing through the pages passed the earlier adventures of the Kidd Pirates, trying to find when Kidd first met the summoner mage. Finally getting there, he sighed in slight disappointment.

_Boring_.

Kidd just went on about the control issues he had with _his_, Bedros took mental note the Kidd referred to Gabrielle like that throughout the time she was with him since the beginning, summoner mage and how she wouldn't listen to him and how pissed off he got with her when she didn't listen or talked back to him. Then he, personally, came into the journal, and Bedros had half the mind to scribble out what Kidd had wrote about him and put '_amazingly awesome_', but he didn't need Kidd knowing he was looking through his stuff.

Bedros flipped forward, scanning over the words until his red eyes locked onto something interesting and that made him giggle with excitement, and he read the slightly sloppy hand writing of Kidd's.

_I fucking can't believe it. Gabriella said she liked me. She fucking liked me! What the fuck it wrong with her? It makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, I almost fucking abuse her and shit! I threw her into the fucking ocean at least twenty times, and she says she liked me? It's just fucking crazy. _

_Though, it explains why she was acting so fucking weird for the longest time with all those fucking questions that could be passed as insults._

_Does she really think my nose looks weird? _

_Wait._

_Why do I fucking care?_

_I fucking don't. _

_God. I need to stop fucking writing when I'm drunk. It fucks with my mind._

_But she's such a fucking idiot to listen to Bedros. I mean seriously. He's a fucking devil; he's born and bred on lying to everything living thing in his presence._

Bedros chuckled at that; oh how true that was, but he knew Kidd liked Gabriella, that was no lie. Bedros went back to the page, but saw that it trailed off, signaling that Kidd must had stopped writing because he passed out from alcohol poisoning probably. So, turning the page, Bedros continued to read the neater, and less curse word riddled, writing.

_The beginning of the day wasn't the best I have had in awhile, to sum it up, it was rather terrible actually. I had the biggest headache from the biggest hangover of my life, which is painful, extremely painful. I'm going to have to remember never to do that again for a long time. As in never. And it was all because of Gabriella. Did she really have to say that? Did she really say that, at all? Maybe I was just imagining it all, but I know I'm not. I wouldn't have gotten drunk like that last night if she hadn't. And she wasn't even there that morning and for some reason I actually wanted to see her. What's wrong with that? Everything._

_Not that I want to avoid her, but I just don't want to deal with all that crap that comes with the thing that…she did... _

_So, I decided that I would deal with it, and that makes me end up in a hole, literally._

_God damnit she was…clingy. It was an odd feeling to say the least; having her close to me like that. I can't really describe it._

…

_Moving on…_

_Then her peer from this school came, Madeline, and she has the biggest, and disturbing, crush on Killer, and that shit is fucking funny. I know he's my best friend, but I can't help but laugh at it and milk it for all it's worth. _

_It's pay back for all the crap that he put me through._

_Revenge is pretty sweet._

Bedros saw nothing of real interest in that. Though, there were some signs that Kidd liked Gabriella, but not an enough to prove it. Licking his pointer finger, the stone devil turned the page again, and the first thing he saw was the big ink blob at the bottom of the page.

Hmm…

Though Bedros was curious, he decided he would read up until that point, but another thing that drew his attention was the quick and sloppy writing compared to the other entrees, hell, even Kidd's drunk man writing was neater than this page. There was only one logical explanation for why it was messy, and that made Bedros smirk deviously: Kidd was pissed, _really_ pissed.

_Why the fucking hell was Gabriella looking at Killer like that with that shit face of a smile? Seriously what the fucking hell is wrong with that. And then she goes off and talks to him in private like that, seriously I can't believe that. Then Killer, why the hell is he acting like that now. _

_Are they getting close?_

_Fucking hell no._

_Not on my ship._

_I chewed her out about it, well, not about talking to Killer; I didn't want her to think…that…_

…

_Moving on…_

…

Bedros noticed that there was a small break between the first half and the second half of the page, since the writing lost its sloppy edge and became clearer. So, he figured that Kidd must have taken a two minute time out to calm down.

_I think I just need to calm down a bit._

Bingo.

_I shouldn't even care about things like that. I mean, I'm the deadly Eustass Captain Kidd. I shouldn't be worrying about what Killer is doing, or Gabriella…_

Bedros frowned because that's where the ink blob blocked his view of the last sentence on the page. Bedros was burning to know what was under the ink there, oh how he wanted to know. But he couldn't just lift ink with an eraser. One, it was impossible, and two, Kidd would know.

Oh wait.

But he could use his magic to make the ink transparent and then when it was gone it was like no one was there.

With the thoughtful frown on his lips turning upright into a sly smirk, he let his ashy-brown magic glow on the tip of his finger then ran it across the ink, making it glow to show the words underneath.

Bedros's smirk widened. "Oh, oh, _oh!_ This is gold, gold, _gold!_" he put the book to his nose to reread what was said.

Oh and how it was _gold._

"Bedros." The lazy voice of Blaze traveled to Bedros's ears, and the stone devil hissed a sharp intake of breath.

Bedros quickly placed the book on the nightstand and dashed from Kidd's room, praying that he would beat Blaze to his room so he wouldn't get in trouble, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him he forgot something...

* * *

><p>"Stupid mutt." Kidd grumbled as he slid off the back of hell hound with a scowl.<p>

The ride through the jungle was rather quick, thanks to the dog's keen sense of smell, but the ride was anything but pleasant. It was jumpy, rocky, and painful, as in a pain for his crotch. He had to worry about making sure that Gabriella didn't fall off, but he also had to make sure he didn't fall off the mutt that was literally flying through the trees. So, with one hand gripping the fur to death and his arm was wrapped around his summoner mage firmly, he tried to make the ride seem more pleasant, but it didn't work.

Kind of.

He had something to keep his mind off the blooming pain. But that he was going to keep in the back of his mind.

Sorry, but his mind is now officially sealed to the public.

The dog whimpered at the harsh scowling being directed towards it, and that made Kidd scoff and roll his eyes. What a baby.

Shaking his head, Kidd gathered Gabriella into his arms, placing an arm around her shoulders and under her legs to carry her towards the tent that had the old man's doctor son. As he walked through the village and closer to tent, and where the old man was now sleeping on his book piles outside, Kidd started to scowl.

He hated doctors, with the exception of the doctor on his ship, of course. But he hated doctors. Why? They reminded him of that smug ass bastard who he hated to admit was his rival. So, he hated doctors.

But he put that aside for the time being, and stalked into the tent. "Hey, you." He called to the old man's son, Gregory.

Gregory was busy at work, writing something down in a journal, but when his name was called in such a harsh way, he jumped out of his seat three feet into the air and then landed three feet away from the desk he was working. He was about to whip around and glare at who scared him half to death, but it quickly fell to a fear stricken pale face.

Kidd ignored the look and continued on with the important matter that was currently in his arms. "Fix her."

Gregory blinked slowly, shifting back and forth on his feet like he was getting ready to run on a reflex. "What do you mean by that?"

"She's sick. Fix her." Kidd repeated, his patience running thin.

"I can't 'fix' someone who is sick…" Gregory explained shortly, fiddling with a loose thread on his lab coat.

"Then you better think of something to help this rash she has."

Gregory's ears seemed to perk up when the pirate captain said that and the color slowly started to regain dominance on his skin. "Did you say rash?"

"Yes, I did." Kidd mocked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

White started to win the battle against the color on Gregory's face. "Lay her down over on the cot." He said quickly, waving a hand over to the sad excuse for a bed, in Kidd's opinion that is, but he laid her down on the thin looking tarp strapped to a stand.

Gregory pulled up a small stool to the cot's side then sat down slowly, always glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the deadly pirate looming over him. He pushed it aside for the moment though and turned his full attention to the sick woman in front of him, looking her over. She looked to be in pain as she clutched her stomach, gripping the fabric of her shirt at the side. Gregory figured that was where this rash was, so he started to slowly roll the shirt up and he grimaced: it definitely looked bad, but he needed to examine it more thoroughly to make sure it wasn't the virus and rather the bacterial infection since they both had similar rashes, and to do that he needed to pull her shorts down slightly since it was hidden by the fabric.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing."

Gregory jumped an inch off the seat, completely forgetting the Kidd was towering over him still. "I need to see the full rash to check it out to make sure it's not the virus." He squealed in a high-pitched voice.

Kidd just grunted in response.

Gregory took that as a somewhat-okay to continue with his examination, placing his fingers over the reddened and blistered skin, but Gabriella didn't like that.

Hissing in pain, she used what little strength she had to swat the doctor's hand away weakly.

Gregory sighed and ignored the light tap on his hand. "Could you hold her hands for me? I can't help if she's fighting back like this." It wasn't like it hurt; it was more of the idea that her hands would be constantly getting in his way.

Kidd just stood there. "What."

"Hold her hands." Gregory repeated.

Kidd just continued to stand there, looking down at the doctor and his summoner mage, but then he moved, picking up a stool and placed it at the head of the cot, sitting down slowly as he looked down at the upside down face of his summoner mage for a second. With a small shake of his head, he grabbed up her hands, pulling them away from trying to hit the doctor and then rested his elbows on either side of her head so her hands were up and away from Gregory.

"Thank you." Gregory mumbled shortly, his eyes locked onto the rash with a thoughtful look.

Kidd didn't really pay attention to the doctor that much, though he was still pissed at the fact that he was touching skin on _his_ summoner mage that he should _not_ be touching. At all. To ignore that, he continued to look down at Gabriella, watching her face twist and turn with unwanted pain as she rolled her head side to side with small whimpers. He had never seen her like this; it was a rather odd sight to see, seeing his summoner mage look so vulnerable in a way.

"Well," the voice of Gregory pulled Kidd away from staring down at Gabriella. "I have some good news and bad news."

"Then spit it out." Kidd spat with a deep scowl.

Gregory pulled the collar of his shirt and gulped. "W—well the good news is that she doesn't have the virus."

"And the bad news." Kidd said in an emotionless tone.

Gregory pulled the collar of his shirt again and coughed to try hiding another large gulp. "It's a bacterial infection that she has, and it still needs to be treated with a series of shots."

"That's it?" Kidd questioned with a hairless brow rising in slight shock, he thought it would have been worse then that.

"Well…"

Of course, there's something else.

"It's a rather painful set of shots, and it looks bad. So, it may hurt her even more by getting the shots." Gregory explained.

"Just do whatever it is to fix her." Kidd bluntly said; if it helped his summoner mage get better, he didn't care.

Gregory just blinked at the response, but nodded quickly, standing up from the stool and hurried over to his desk filled with crap that Kidd didn't care about, which made him look away from the doctor and at his summoner mage again.

Unlike when Gregory was probing her damaged skin, Gabriella didn't look like she was in any pain; she looked slightly relaxed, almost at peace. Though, ever now and then, her hands would twitch in his, wanting, for some weird reason, to touch her rash that caused her pain. She was just a weird person in general though, but—

"Make sure she doesn't move much." Gregory cut into Kidd's inner thoughts again as the doctor flopped back on the little stool next to the cot with a small tray balanced on his lap. He picked up the first shot that was prepped and ready for the rash and carefully placed a hand on the red skin then he positioned the needle. "This may hurt a bit." He said shortly before ramming it in.

Kidd felt his summoner mage squeeze his hand from a tight grip to a death grip while her head shifted to one side, burying her face into the fur of his sleeve that was next to her head, but once the shot was out, she relaxed. Then the second shot was in and her grip tightened, her face dug into his sleeve further and small muffled whimpers came from her hidden mouth.

"Last one." Gregory informed her as he took the second out and the third went in.

Gabriella yelped, her legs starting to curl and her long fingernails clawed Kidd's paler then normal hands until the needle was out of her skin and she relaxed with a shudder.

Kidd just stared down at her, watching her tremble slightly, breathing heavily to calm down and relax the pain. She looked so…vulnerable…

"I'm really impressed." For the third time, the stupid doctor interrupted his thoughts. "Most people end up kicking and screaming when they get those shots. Even grown men that are warriors end up crying over it for days, and she didn't even shed a single tear from what I can see."

Kidd gawked silently to himself. Maybe his summoner mage wasn't that vulnerable.

"I need to go check on my Pa." Gregory said randomly, though the last time Kidd saw the old man he was sleeping in the open outside, which was never a good idea when in the jungle. With that said, the doctor left, leaving Kidd alone with his summoner mage.

He looked down at her again, still holding her hands in such an awkward way as he wondered if he should say something. "How are you holding out?" he found himself asking, clearly not taking too long to ponder over things, but what really shocked him was the tone he used: soft and calm in a low whisper of comfort. He didn't think he would say that, or anything, like that.

"Hurts like a bitch." Gabriella mumbled out.

Kidd just shook his head with a deep chuckle, but then he yawned, feeling rather sleepy. It was rather odd since he never got tired like this, especially since he didn't do much but his daily dose of violence and death. Nothing out of the unusual, but then again, he did carry Gabriella for awhile, but she wasn't _that _heavy, but she wasn't some feather either.

Another yawn drew Kidd away from his musing and slowly he lowered his head to rest comfortably in the crook of her neck, and of course she smelled of something outrageous like pineapples, and why the hell did she smell so fruity? She should smell like blood since she was bathed in that earlier in the day, but when the key word of _bathed_ crossed his mind, he remembered that she _did_ bathe. She must have gotten the fruity smelling soap from Madeline. That explained everything.

The thoughts of her odd choice in fragrances were tossed aside easily though, and Kidd released her hands, letting his arms flop onto her breasts.

She made a small gasp, and was probably going to protest about it and he was about to tell her to shut up and let him sleep, but she said nothing like that. "Don't fall asleep Kidd." She said simply, placing a hand to his head to move him.

He ignored her and slapped a hand on top of hers to stop it, letting his fingers lace with hers. "Shut up and let me sleep, woman."

All other protest from his summoner mage was drowned out as Kidd fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p>This was a rather long chapter. And I hope you liked it. There will be more action in the next chapter, so sorry if this was a bit of a let down. But hey, there was Gabriella and Kidd action. Though, he is probably OoC.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20: It's Out

Oh, goodness. I love this chapter. I mean, I was squealing when I wrote what happened at the end. Is that a bad thing? I don't know, but I was.

Also, I'm glad that people like how I'm portraying Kidd, whether it be a little OoC, but still cool or was just 'oddly sentimental'. (Yes, I'm talking about you HarunoMarina and C'Kidd) Makes me happy that you guys think that. :)

Tigereye13, you always give me great ideas, I swear. First Madeline stealing Killer's mask, and now the date thing. Gosh, you're just amazing since I didn't even think about Gregory getting knocked out by the soap, too. So thank you for the ideas, oh, and also for the edits. :)

Also, thank you RobinFleur for translations. You're so awesome. :D

Now, this chapter doesn't really have as much action as I thought, and also has a bit of Killer OoC-ness, but I think it's worth it in the end, I think. I hope.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but OCs and plot are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 20: It's out.<p>

The stick of a woman was extremely lucky that Killer had a mask on or else she would have fallen over dead within the second after Kidd abandoned him just like that because of Gabriella.

Stupid fucking ginger, having a crush on the summoner mage that was normal.

If Killer wasn't so pissed at the moment at his captain, he would be patting him on the back, telling Kidd good job for taking little baby steps in the right directing to admitting that he actually did like Gabriella. But at this very moment, all Killer wanted to do was strangle Kidd, captain or not, when he was pissed, he was pissed. Nothing could change that since that was always how it has been, and also because Kidd was the same way.

"Killer." The sickeningly sweet voice of the thin summoner mage snapped him from his fuming thoughts to his angry reality and he scowled at her from behind his mask. "We need to get going, that diamond won't find itself."

That brought around a new problem, that problem being that there was only _one_ dog, but _two_ of them.

...

No way in fucking hell.

"Summon another dog." He barked the order in a cold tone.

Her face twisted into a serious face that looked so forced it wouldn't break if he flicked, as in punched, her in the nose. "I can't."

"Why not?" He snapped, hating the fact that he was losing his usual under control cool. Another reason why he hated her out of many.

"Because I can only summon two at a time," she replied with that stupid stone face of lying as she said the vile words through her teeth. "And the other one is with Gabriella and Kidd."

Killer scowled darkly, and of course, she was unmoving as his mood didn't break her face, but the dog, who looked at the thin summoner mage questionably, slinked back in slight fear. What a baby. "Stop fucking lying." Killer spat. "It's pissing me off."

The thin summoner mage's face actually broke from forced seriousness as she pouted sadly. "Don't be mad at me~!" she whined with a large eyes looking up, batting her long eyelashes in his direction.

_Disgusting. _

Killer hated disgusting things like that, and when he thought something was disgusting, he got rid of it. So he whacked her straight in the middle of her nose with his metal encased hand with a _donck_, sending her flying back as she hit the trunk of a tree with a loud _thud_. "Heh." He grunted darkly, happy with the new red, and soon to be black and blue, bruise forming on the skin of her nose.

"_Ouch~_!" she cried in a whiny and nasally voice, clutching her burning nose as small tears swelled at the corners of her eyes; the nose was one of the most sensitive parts of the body that would always make a person cry, especially emotional, hormonal women. "That really hurt!"

"Serves you right for lying." Killer bluntly said, though he got enjoyment from seeing her cry.

Madeline scowled through her tears and pain, hopping back onto her feet then stormed over to Killer with a furious purpose. "You can not treat you girl friend like that! It's abuse!"

"You are **not** my fucking girlfriend." Killer stated coldly, bringing back a fist to punch her again, but he felt something dart between his legs, then the next thing he knew he was rolling down something furry then landed on the back of the hellhound.

It was an awkward feeling that just happened to him. A feeling he didn't like. And he was about to chew out the dog for doing such a thing, but before he knew it he was trying desperately to cling to the large animal's fur so he wouldn't fall off with the dog flying through the trees. He thought he heard the thin summoner mage screech something, but it was lost to his ears, not that he cared, if this could happen everyday he wouldn't mind. Though, he could live without the dog sticking its head between his legs and making him roll down its neck part. It was a bit of an ego bruising moment probably for any man.

The dog just continued to jump gracefully passed trees with its long striders, making Killer bounce slightly against the movement of the back he was barely sitting under, riding the dog like it was some oddly huge horse. He didn't need a burning crotch in the morning.

Then the dog gradually slowed in pace, going from a full out sprint to a jog then a trot until it stopped completely at a large temple covered in thick jungle vines as tree tore apart the old, sandy colored stone that was decorated with odd tribal designs. Before Killer could even get a closer look at the area, the dog slowly got down on its belly for him to get off easily, and the masked blonde slid off the large back, but then turned to the dog's head and patted it gently. "Good dog." He praised.

The hellhound barked happily at the affection, his tongue rolling out passed its lips and sharp teeth as Killer continued to scratch behind its ears.

The dog deserved praise; it took him away from the stick of a woman he loathed. But sadly, ever so sadly, the rushed sound of paws with claws digging into the mud reached his eardrums and he sighed deeply.

The large dog nudged him in the side lightly with a small whine, as if telling him not to worry.

Killer rubbed his hand against the fur of the dog's head again; the thought was a kind one, and it was weird for him to be accepting it and from a dog no less, but when the shrill voice of the thin summoner mage came clearly to his ears, he knew that he was back in his living hell.

"I can't believe you just ran off like that!"

At first, Killer thought she was talking to the dog since the large head started to shift behind him as the dog let out a small whimper, but when the masked blonde turned around, it was him she was staring at with a scowl.

"You don't just run off like that when your girlfriend is talking to you!" she continued.

Killer just stared at her blankly; feeling oddly calmed down because of the dog, so, instead of beating the shit out of her for saying that again, he simply turned on his heel and headed towards the temple.

"Hey!" she shouted sharply, sounding offended that he just left her like that for a second time.

Killer ignored her easily and looked up at the temple's steps that climbed up high to the top. According to what Kidd told him about the old man's research, the large blue diamond was in this temple, but something seemed off. It wasn't the fact that the temple was surprisingly in good condition for something that was hundreds of years old, but the fact that the dog knew where it was. That was strange indeed.

"How did the dogs know where the diamond was?" Killer found him saying the question aloud as the thin summoner mage stepped to his side to gaze up at the temple.

"Hell hounds have very good senses." She answered simply. "Since diamonds are a summoner mage's weakness, the hounds know the scent of them so that they can keep their master's safe from harm. One this big must have stirred them, and since we need to get to the diamond, they easily knew where to go."

Killer nodded to himself. It made sense in that weird way that he didn't dwell on it and went with the flow of things, and he was about to start up the stairs, but then he felt the presence of the hellhound that had brought him here. "Good boy." He patted his head one more time since he was a smart little, err, _large_ dog.

The dog let out a little _ruff_ as the masked blonde showed the small affection to its head again, making the thin summoner mage huff in jealousy.

The jealousy in Madeline grew much more quickly compared to other girls, like Gabriella, and it was also over little things as well, like Killer being nicer to a hellhound then her. So, to fix that, she swiped her hand across the air as it started to glow the golden light, making the portal to the dog's home open up. "Get going you two." She scoffed, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

The hellhound she came out obeyed the order without hesitation, stalking back through the colorful vortex until it disappeared completely, but Killer's hellhound didn't move an inch.

It stayed close to Killer's side, nudging his side with small whines, not wanting to leave just yet.

Madeline scowled at the dog. "_Go!_" she barked pointing a finger in the direction of the portal.

The hellhound whimpered and slowly sulked back into it until the dog vanished along with the colorful portal.

"Finally." Madeline sighed happily turned to Killer with a cheeky smile. "Now we can get back to our date."

Killer turned his head slowly towards her, and like the hellhound that disappeared, so did his calm mood and his fuming rage snapped back, forcing the thin summoner mage into a nearby tree trunk when he punched her in the nose once again.

* * *

><p>Killer was pissed off, <em>again<em>.

He had to walk through booby-trapped hallways with the stick of a woman for far too long then he would have ever liked. It made him wish the hellhound was back. It was funny how attached he got to the thing, and for some reason he wasn't ashamed to admit it.

For one, the dog was no puppy, it was the size of two horses put together and could probably scare a bunch of men shitless in two seconds flat. Though, the way the hellhound acted at times could be slightly ego bruising, but it could easily be overlooked but the deadly aura the dog could have when needed. So over all, he liked the hellhound that saved his life from the stick of a woman, and he wished that it was with him rather then the stupid thin summoner mage; but the sooner that Killer found the diamond, the quicker he could get back to the village and away from…_her_.

And he felt that Lady Luck, who he pictured to be more attractive then the stick of a woman, was on his side when the hallway led him into a large room that held the glowing blue diamond on a towering pedestal.

And hell was it _huge_.

Killer couldn't even image all the beli they could get for _that_. There was no way it was the size of a single head, it had to be at least two heads. Damn, he was kind of feeling glad that Kidd made him go get it now.

"So," the thin summoner mage drew him from his inner thought again.

That made him realize that he kind of wished that Kidd _didn't_ make his get the diamond.

"How do we get it down?" she questioned, looking up at him with a single brow raised above one of her brown eyes.

Killer actually took this into consideration, but only for a second as he easily saw that there were no steps, so, he improvised and took the thin summoner mage by the hood and chucked her towards the diamond. She was kinda like a spear, though spears didn't scream.

Madeline screamed the whole way as she sailed through the air ungraceful, and nothing like a spear. When she hit her target dead on, she grunted loudly as the diamond's hard body collided with her stomach and nonexistent breasts, making her topple over to the ground on the other side of the pillar with a _thump._

Killer calmly walked over to her moaning and groaning form until he loomed over her and the diamond pressed against her torso. "Is the diamond okay?" he questioned her.

"It's perfectly peachy." She wheezed through her scowl.

"Good." Killer nodded, ignoring the huff of angry breath from the thin summoner mage because she was mad that he didn't ask her if she was alright. He already knew she wasn't, so why bother. He was about to heave the precious diamond off her body, but the feeling of pebbles and sand hitting the skin of his neck made him freeze, looking up to see the ceiling cracking slowly with small line that grew louder, wider, and longer. "Well, fuck." He cursed calmly; placing his hands on the diamond's smooth surface then rolled it off of the thin summoner mage easily until it was safely on the other side.

Then a loud piercing scream of fright floated to his ears, and he couldn't help but smirk at the joyous noise, but when he turned around, he saw that the giant stone golem hadn't crushed the thin summoner mage since she was curled up in a tight ball on uneven rocks.

Well, fuck. If the golem was only a bit smaller it would have crushed her instead of its foot missing her by a few feet.

'_Thou shall not steal Captain Trolley's sea_.' The golem bellowed in a raspy voice that sounded like static because of old age.

Killer tilted his masked head, wondering what it meant by 'sea', but then he glanced over to the diamond and saw that it was blue, like the sea. A rather blonde moment for a blonde.

'_Thou shall perish for stealing Captain Trolley's sea_.' The golem bellowed again, stomping its feet heavily to the ground.

Killer waited briefly for a moment to see if the feet would crush the thin summoner mage under the pressure, but with no such luck and then he darted away from the stone fist coming his way. Glancing over his shoulder for a second, he checked on the diamond to see if it was okay, and thankfully it was. It only got misplaced for a slight second, and since the golem was assigned to protect the diamond, it just moved away from it, stomping away to follow after him.

Now that he knew that the diamond would be fine, he started to think of a plan that would stop this overgrown piece of rock that could walk.

Heh, that rhymed.

Shaking his head, Killer removed his musing thoughts and snapped his full attention to the lumbering golem. He didn't know much about the gear works of golems, well, he didn't know anything actually. From what he had heard, the marines used to use them in the past, _way_ far in the past, but now they had robots and cyborgs. There was no need for golems to fight, but apparently they were still used to protect things.

Maybe it was like a robot and it had an off switch, there was only one way to find out. Dashing away from his defensive course, Killer darted towards the golem at full speed, slightly confusing it in its tracks for a moment at the sudden change. Killer took this opportunity to leap onto the golem's arm, using his momentum to continue up the sharp angle until he skidded to a halt on the board shoulder.

The golem swung back a hand then brought it back again, making it swoop down on Killer like he was a pesky fly on its shoulder.

Lucky for Killer, he jumped out of the way before the hand made contact. At first, Killer was flustered that his plan failed, but when he saw that the golem's forceful swat made a chunk of its shoulder crumble away, a new plan started to formulate inside his masked head. He took the opening again, running swiftly across the uneven rocks to build up speed until he was ready to jump, and with another large leap, he landed in a crouch on the golem's other shoulder.

The apparently brainless mass of rock that had amazingly good old English vocabulary, swung back its other arm, though slightly choppy because half its shoulder was missing. But it still had the same effect when it landed a sharp hit to its other shoulder when the masked blonde jumped away. The golem quivered as its arms shook from lack of support, but it still stood, so Killer started running again for the last time to make the golem land its last blow upon itself.

Another jump and this time Killer land perched high on its head.

The golem took the bait, and whacked its head as Killer leaped from his perch and to the rocky ground.

Killer watched from a safe distance as the golem shook uncontrollably, like it was about to explode. That made him slightly wary that it would actually explode, but it didn't since it ended up crumbling to the ground in a large pile of rumble. With a sigh of satisfaction, Killer went off to find the summoner mage, but only because he needed her to get them out of here and back to the village quickly. He found her huddled next to the diamond, probably because she saw that the diamond was a safe haven since the golem wouldn't destroy it. "Get us back to the village." He ordered shortly to her shaking form.

Surprisingly, she didn't say anything stupid and just did was told, and in a golden hazy flash, he found himself in the village.

It was earlier morning now as he saw the sun peeking over the tree tops, making the cloudless sky look like a mess of hot pink. That's why he hated dawn and evening: it was pink.

But he shook his head, gathering the diamond up in his arms and started to walk over to where the old man was. He figured that Kidd would have gone to the ship after he got Gabriella all patched up, but he needed to see the old man first. He had some questions on this 'Captain Trolley'.

"Gregory!" the voice of the old man carried to his ear as he got closer, and he saw that the old man's son was collapsed on one of the many mountains of books around his father. "Wake up boy! You have people sleeping in your tent!"

That made Killer stop. Did Kidd _not_ go back to the ship after he got Gabriella fixed up?

"Oh my heavens! Is that the blue diamond!" the old man shrieked, completely forgetting about his son and rushed over to Killer on his twig legs.

Killer was about to open his mouth, but the old man spoke for him with an unexpected requested.

"May I take a picture of you with it, young chap?"

Killer blinked his eyes, though the old man couldn't see. "Why?"

"Because I need my colleagues at the university to see this!"

"Why not take it with you then?"

The old man looked up at him oddly. "Would you really give it to me?"

"No," the answer was blunt and quick.

"That's why I asked if I could take a picture, do you mind?"

"Wait, but why do _I_ have to be in the picture?"

"I need a legitimate reason on why I don't have it in person," the old man replied.

For some reason, that answer really made Killer's rep. go up along with his ego. "Okay."

The old man giggled with cheery enthusiasm, dashing off to his book pile and diving in. Then a short minute later, he returned with a camera. "Say cheese!" he flashed a smile along with the bright flicker of blinding light.

Killer felt like he was seeing stars. "So, um, anyway." He swayed slightly from left to right. "I have a question."

"Ask away dear boy." The old man said, examining the picture that popped out of his camera. "And I must said, you are very photogenic."

Killer just ignored the complement. "Do you know who Captain Trolley was?"

"Ah, Trolley." The old man hummed. "He was considered the first King of Pirates hundreds of years ago."

"Really?" Killer questioned in interest.

"Yes, yes, research says that the diamonds lead to his treasure, but no one really cares about it just because he is lost within the history books and Roger's treasure One Piece is probably grander since it will make a person king instantly. But the world will never know until both treasures are found."

Killer remained silent, taking the information in. He would need to tell Kidd about this, and speaking of Kidd… "Do you know where my Captain is?"

"Oh," the old man looked up at him and away from his photo. "He's in the tent with his lady friend."

So he was with Gabriella.

Killer stalked away from the humming old man and towards the tent, using his shoulder to brush aside the drape that covered the opening since he was still carrying the diamond.

Then he stared at the sight he saw.

There was Kidd at the head of the cot that the summoner mage was laying on, sitting slouched over in a stool so his head was buried deep in the crook of her neck and one hand was on top of hers while hers was on top of his head and they were laced together as Kidd's other arm lounged across her chest and his hand gripped her breast.

That made Killer slightly pissed. Not because Kidd was groping Gabriella, but because Kidd was getting tit action when _he_ was out getting a huge ass diamond with the person he hated most. So, to vent his rage, Killer kicked the stool out from under Kidd.

Even though Kidd was muscular in size, his reflexes were spot on and he didn't fall over with the stool, but landed on his feet, pulling out his gun and pointed it at the supposed threat. "Oh, it's just you." Kidd sighed, replacing the pistol back in its proper place.

Killer just scowled. "I hate you, you fucking ginger."

Kidd just blinked as his first-mate stalked out of the tent. "What did I do now?" he called out to him.

* * *

><p>Hebe strolled through the temple with her Vipera Demons at her side, shielding her from any booby-traps, that is, if there were any. It was odd that there were none and it seemed off to her, so she kept a wary eye until she reached the room that the diamond was in, or well, <em>was<em> in.

She hissed in rage, slapping a hand to her forehead. "Great, now _he's_ going to be upset with me, again." She whined when she saw the trashed room with no diamond and only rocks.

A lot of planning went into getting these very important diamonds to make sure that not just summoner mages, but _any_ mage wouldn't be able to get the diamond, and now she lost it and _he_ was not going to be very happy. Though, maybe Vulcan will screw up worse then she did and she could fly under the radar.

Well, she could only hope so, at least.

* * *

><p>Kidd grumbled as he stalked into his quarters. He didn't know what he had done to piss Killer off so much that he would to <em>that<em>, he knew that he was upset about being left behind with Madeline, but he would have thought that the huge ass diamond in his arms would have cheered up his first-mate, but apparently it didn't.

But he just pushed it aside for now, rubbing the back of his neck. It was rather sore after the way he slept that night, but he had to admit, it was worth it.

Slumping down on the edge of his bed, he heaved out a heavy sigh, still rubbing the back of his neck, letting his mind wander freely about—

He stopped when his eyes locked on his journal on the top of his nightstand rather then in the drawer and he felt his blood run cold.

Could someone have read it?

No.

That's impossible. He crossed it out heavily so no one could ever see it.

But he had that feeling swelling in his gut and he snatched up his journal, flipping to the last page he wrote on.

He shot up from his bed, making his feet stomp on the ground when he saw the familiar brown, ashy glow across where the ink blob should be.

And there, Kidd saw the words he wrote.

"_**BERDOS!**_" Kidd roared loud enough to wake the dead no matter what realm they were in. "_**I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!**_" he screamed the death threat at the top of his lungs as he threw his journal to the ground, letting the glowing page stay open and he stalked out of the room on the prowl for stone devil blood, slamming the door behind him.

Now, if one is curious enough and looks closely on the page that was carelessly left open, one would read:

_I __shouldn't even care about things like that. I mean, I'm the deadly Eustass Captain Kidd. I shouldn't be worrying about what Killer is doing, or Gabriella…though I just can't stop thinking about her because I think…I like her, too._

* * *

><p>:D<p>

Is all I can say.

Finally, after 20 chapters Kidd admits to his journal (and Bedros indirectly) that he likes Gabriella.

Also, Killer doesn't like Gabriella, I know that Kidd wrote 'I like her, too' when he was also talking about Killer and Gabriella but it suppose to be like responding back to Gabriella. I hope that clears that up.


	21. Chapter 21: Caden

Thanks for all the edits Tigereye13. I feel a bit guilty to admit that I didn't know that little tid bit about commas (never did story writing like this in school), but I do find it weird that_ Bones_ doesn't have the problem, but_ His Heir_ does. Strange indeed...

Anyway, now that I know this, I have worked on making sure I don't do that anymore, but I probably still miss some in the end though.

This is a shorter chapter, and probably more OoCism from Kidd...

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but OCs and plot are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 21: Caden.<p>

The crew was all wary of the dark, deadly aura radiating from their captain after they left the jungle island weeks ago, inching away slowly as he would stalk by them with a scowl drawn permanently onto his face; and they wondered for a moment if he did that on purpose with his makeup. No one really knew what had made Kidd go into a crazed frenzy after he had returned that day, well, everyone except Bedros, who nearly tried to commit suicide with the spoon he was holding for his cereal when he heard Kidd's roar from the galley during breakfast, but he knew the one place where he would be safe: with Gabriella.

That just pissed Kidd off on even more levels because he thought the stone devil was using his feelings against him, like it was his weakness, which it was _not_. And he pushed Gabriella to the side roughly, locking his fingers around the stone devil's neck with full intentions of killing him, but apparently his summoner mage didn't want him to.

She grabbed his arm, clinging to him and telling him to stop and leave the stone devil alone.

That actually made Kidd freeze for a moment, lightening his choke hold around Bedros's neck, but when he heard the sigh of relief from the stone devil, he tightened his hold and warned: "_You dare say a word and I'll hang you from the mast_."

Bedros nodded breathlessly, Kidd's fingers still choking the living daylights out of his neck until he was dropped to the ground in a coughing heap. And the stone devil was actually smart this time and didn't say anything, but no matter where he went he was with Gabriella, his shield from a fuming Kidd.

The summoner mage was beyond curious of what was going on, since the stone devil decided to be within her presence at all time, and she tried to get it out of Bedros, but the stone devil would just scamper away like a frightened puppy with his tail between his legs whenever the question popped up. So, she went to the next person who knew which just so happened to be Kidd.

When she went to his office and asked, he froze solidly, freezing like water in a freezer, completely stopping all the writing he was doing on the charts he had on his desk and stared at her blankly, blinking his eyes repeatedly then told her to get the fucking hell out of his office and to never ask about it again.

So now, Gabriella was slightly miffed about being left out of the loop, though everyone was except for Kidd and Bedros. She was going to walk at the rear of the Kidd Pirate's as they went through the new island they stumbled upon because she wanted to avoid the two men that had a weird secret, but Kidd didn't like the idea and grabbed the chain on the back of her cloak and dragged her to the front so she was walking alongside him. So, instead of being slightly miffed, she was now pissed, her arms crossed over her chest in a huff as she walked slightly behind the redhead.

The scenery of the island's city soothed her mood by a bit though. It had a Roman feeling to it; towering pillars holding up decorative roofs all made of marble as grape vines clung to the detailed architecture. Fountains were everywhere, spilling out buckets of water from the statues carved into them of women holding, well, buckets. The islanders wore white clothing, their bare feet barely making a sound as they walked across the marble stone streets with baskets of bread in their arms, letting the mouth watering aroma of the mixed ingredients fill the atmosphere in heavenly bliss.

It had that feeling of her home on _Regnum carcere_, it did remind her of that; the smell, the look, the sounds, and that made her frown. Now that she realized that, she was starting to feel a bit homesick, wondering how her family was holding up. They were constantly hounded everyday because of their ancestor, because of Caden and what he did, and if it wasn't for Calamity then they would have probably all been hiding in a cave deep within the earth's core; too scared to even try and come out. But just because Calamity protected them, is still didn't stop the stares, the whispers, the rumors, just because she looked like him, her ohdan. No one in her family was born with his red-orange tinted hair along with his golden colored eyes, and especially, no one was born with summoner's magic, until she came along. That was why she was known as Caden's Heir to everyone, the council, just because she looked like him and had his magic.

Not that she took it as an insult in any way, she was proud to be his heir, and she would prove him innocent and bring to light the true cause of the Demon War, that she swore on.

Her inner thoughts ended as she bumped into the back of Kidd, he stopped for some reason, and Gabriella scowled at the maroon colored fur on his back and looked around to see what he was staring at.

It was a public execution.

There, perched high on a platform was a man about to be hanged. He looked middle aged, large bags under his eyes from sleepless nights, but he stood calm and firm, appearing like he was ready for death.

Then there was another man, dressed in fine, noble robes of purple with a sneer in the background as a third man began to read a proclamation.

"_This man by the name of Tonal Jay is sentenced to execution because of charges brought upon him by Lord Donald!_" the man bellowed to the crowds below the gallows, gazing up at the three men. "_This man, Tonal Jay, was charged of thievery by Lord Donald!_"

"I stole nothing from him." Tonal stated calmly to the crowds, his voice carrying clearly over the crowds.

"_Please!_" Lord Donald scoffed in a bark, forcing everyone in the courtyard around the gallows to hear him. "Just because you were my business partner doesn't mean _anything!_ You stole all the money from me!"

"Or was it you who took the money, but decided to blame it on me as your scapegoat." Tonal replied simply, his stern voice still carrying firm and strong to the people, making the crowds murmur in response.

Lord Donald bristled like an angry cat, his wrinkled red cheeks rising with rage as steam blew out his ears and he stormed over to the edge of the platform, screaming: "Who here believes this man is guilty!"

"I do!" someone instantly screamed from the crowd, causing a chain reaction of more and more people to scream _guilty, guilty, guilty_ over and over again.

"Talk about mob mentality." Kidd huffed, but the look on his face showed amusement, enjoying the display playing out before him.

Gabriella just stared up at him, feeling a gut twisting feeling inside her stomach, making her want to vomit. It was all too similar.

The crowd was roaring with approval, wanting to see this so called criminal hanged for this crime pressed against him, but was it really true? Did he really steal that money, or was he really a scapegoat? Gabriella knew for a fact that he was a scapegoat; just by the way he acted, showing no fear, showing that he had no fear because he had nothing to hide. That made him an innocent man, and what made him look even more innocent was when two small children broke through the crowds, though they were barely heard over the rioting people, but the summoner mage's long ears were able to hear them scream, begging for their papa back. The look of distress and agony crossed Tonal's face, watching his children cry, large wet tears streaming down their cheeks with runny noses as they were about to see their father hanged for a crime he did not commit.

Gabriella couldn't take it anymore.

She smothered her face in the back of Kidd's coat, blinding her vision from what she was about to see and covered her long ears, hoping to muffle sound of death.

Kidd jerked forward slightly, blinking at the pressure being pushed onto his back; he knew who it was, and he reached around with a hand to peel his summoner mage away from him by grabbing the chain on the back of her cloak, but when he brought his hand back in front of him, all he saw was the black, limp fabric. Looking around for his now missing summoner mage, his eyes quickly locked onto her ginger hair, the sun's glare making it look more orange then red as she raced away her head hung low.

Damn. She could run fast.

"_**Papa!**_" a child wailed as the sound of a door fell open followed by the _snap_ of a rope, and his summoner mage was lost from sight.

* * *

><p>Kidd, once again, was pissed beyond belief. He had spent the whole day trying to find his summoner mage, but with no luck. If she was hiding somewhere deep within the olive tree forest that took up most of the island, he was going to have a raging fit. He already walked around the city, looking down every alley for her while lugging around her cloak, not that it weight anything as it was draped over his shoulder. But still, he couldn't find her, and that annoyed him.<p>

Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun was setting, and he had at least one place left to look before he went back to the inn he and his crew was staying at.

It was a garden, a large one; filled with trimmed trees and bushes while light-white marble statues worked their way to compliment the dark brown tree trunks and forest green leaves that had yellow highlights from the setting sound, but then he saw a simmer of red orange.

Taking a step back, he looked around a statue of a woman with no arms to see Gabriella huddled up in a tight ball, her legs curled up at his chest and her head resting on her knees as she swayed back and forth on a bench that over looked the sun on the horizon line of the dark colored sea. He scowled, marching over to her with an angry purpose. "Hey." He barked out, his frown increasing.

Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice calling to her, and she whipped her head around to face him.

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes opening wide, staring at her bloodshot eyes that looked puffy with dried tears along with fresh ones still traveling done her cheeks. She was crying. "What the fuck," was all he could say.

"I'm not crying," she bluntly lied, quickly rubbing her eyes to get rid of any tears still lingering around on her skin. "I just had something in my eye, and it hurt."

"Doesn't take five hours to get some shit out of your eyes," Kidd retaliated, feeling slightly pissed that she was crying. _No_ _one_ was supposed to cry on his crew, not even if they were a girl. Not even Madeline cried, only a tear or two, but that was because Killer tortured the girl, there had to be tears if that happened. But this, Gabriella was crying over a death of some guy she didn't even know, he knew for a fact that's why she ran away. "Suck it up; you act like death isn't in the world."

"But he was innocent," she scowled through her puffy eyes and stained cheeks, and rage boiling over in his summoner mage that he only saw twice. "He should _not_ have died!"

"Innocent or not, it happened. Get over it." Kidd said bluntly, an emotionless look crossing his face.

"Innocent or not, it shouldn't have happened!" Fury burned in her golden eyes as she stood up from the bench with bottle anger just wanting to explode. "Nothing like that should happen to an innocent man! Just like my Ohdan!" she cried, almost screaming at the top of her lungs to get her point across as she scowled so sharply that it would have pierced Kidd's soul.

But the only thing it pierced was his confused curiosity that was laced with irritation. "Who the fuck is your 'ohdan'?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes.

Gabriella snapped back at the question, both hands flying over her mouth, like she said something she wasn't supposed to say and she flopped back down onto the bench, silent and unmoving.

"Answer me." Kidd ordered coldly.

Gabriella slowly removed her hands from her mouth, letting them relax in her lap. "He's my great, great, great grandfather, and he died like that man did…an innocent man…" she replied in a shaky voice as she shoulders started to tremble again.

Kidd just blinked, watching tears start to swell in her eyes again.

"He was the scapegoat, and he died by the council's hands just because of that…it wasn't his fault that war broke out…"

"So, this council caused war, and he got blamed for it." Kidd stated, not even bothering to make it into the form of a question.

"_No_," her voice suddenly became bitter though the tears still streamed down her cheeks and her glare looked of hatred and vengeance. "The council didn't start the war, that fucking devil _Copy Cat_ did," she spat, her hands starting to ball up into tight, white knuckled fists. "He told my Ohdan to cause war, and he tricked him! Saying he would gain more power, but he lost _everything_…he…he lost everything…" her voice suddenly lost all its flame and her head fell into her hands as she tried to control her sobs.

Kidd just stared. He had no idea what to do. His summoner mage was sitting before him crying, truly in a vulnerable state of mind as she wept for her dead ancestor that was innocent, but died a traitor who caused war. So, he did the only thing he could think of: walk over to her, grab her arm and pull her to her feet. "Stop it."

Gabriella took in deep ragged breaths, standing awkwardly on her toes as Kidd held her up by an arm until all of it turned to hiccups and light sniffles, and then he let her go, letting her go to rubbing her eyes to get rid of all the salty tears still remaining.

Kidd just threw her cloak that was still draped over his shoulder on top of her head and turned sharply on his heel to walk back to the inn, but then he froze when something warm slipped into his hand. He whipped around his head, staring down at his summoner mage holding his hand while clutching her cloak closely to her chest like a child does with its blanket. She truly looked vulnerable, and he didn't know what to do, the look in her eyes as she gazed off in the distance to the side, never making eye contact with him as her fingers twitched in his hand. How was he supposed to deal with this? He may like her, but this was way too much for him to take._ Period_.

So, again, he did the only thing he could think of and let her hold his hand as he guided her back to the inn. It just seemed to be simpler that way.

The sun had long since set, the city was engulfed in darkness, letting his summoner mage easily blend into the background except for her ginger hair, and for the fact that she was walking next to Kidd, and his outfit really didn't blend it with the dark of night, or the light of day for that matter. He just pulled her along the vacant streets of the city and darting down an alleyway that he deemed a short cut until they got back at the inn.

She quickly released his hand, like if was hot coals burning her skin and rushed to the door, pulling her cloak on then shifting her hood over her head to hide any signs of tears left over until she got to her room.

Kidd just stood at the doorway, watching her jump up the stairs until she was lost from his sight, then he turned back out to the street, feeling that he needed to release the swelling of pent up rage that was unnoticeable building up in his gut while he was with his summoner mage, and he knew just who to take it out on.

* * *

><p>Just a little bit more on Caden, and how Gabriella feels about it in the end. It may seem OoC for her, but it isn't. It does have an importance to the story, trust me on this.<p> 


	22. Chapter 22: Brain Dead

Sorry for the shortness of the chapters, D. Black. I'm trying to make them longer...I try, but my brain doesn't work with making long chapters for _His Heir_ for some reason, you know? I'll try and make them longer though, don't worry. :)

Thanks for the edits Tigereye13, like always. As for the gem search, well that will come up in chapters to come. Right now I'm working on the little romance part for Kidd and Gabriella. Also, more of the details about Copy Cat and the war will be brought up soon. :) As for the grammar rule, I fall over in my chair with you.

And mukii, I also liked that part where Bedros tried to commit suicide with a spoon. :D

RobinFleur194, thank you for the love, it's what keeps me going, and the new island is very pretty, I just so happened to be watching _Hercules_ when writing it.

Now, for the chapter. Short again, sorry (T.T), also more Kidd OoCism, but I threw a fight and deaths in there! Maybe it will make it better?

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: Brain Dead.<p>

Despite the fact the Kidd only got a few hours of sleep that night, he was in a chipper mood while he nursed his morning beer, listening to all the news going around the dinning area of the pub. The town was in a buzz because Lord Donald was murdered 'mysteriously' last night, and not just him, but everyone within his large, marble mansion. That included the guards, the servants, animals, and even the children of the servants there. Now, just because Kidd was trying to make his summoner mage feel better didn't mean he was going soft, but hey, at least it was a painless shot to the heart while they slept.

He figured that everyone would suspect him, since a lot of valuables were stolen from the mansion as well, not that he cared if the islanders blamed him, but they all seemed too scared to confront him about it, thinking he would probably kill them, too. Though, he would probably kill them all in the end even if they didn't, maybe; his mood hadn't been soured yet, so they were on his good side at the moment.

His eyes trailed over the top of his glass to the stairs, watching for his summoner mage to come down; he wanted her to hear all the rumors of the man's death, hoping it would lighten her mood like it did his own. He waited and and waited and waited...

She never came down.

Kidd had the odd sense of déjà vu swarming in his stomach, but this time Killer was sitting next to him, rather then across from him. "Where is she?" he questioned, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at his first-mate.

Killer turned his masked head in the direction of his captain slowly, tilting his head slightly as if taking in the familiar question and situation. "She left before you came down," he answered slowly with a similar reply.

Kidd rolled his eyes and downed the last of his beer before scooting his chair back as he pushed away from the table, making the legs _screech_ across the floor and he stood up then stalked over to the door, ignoring the look Killer was sending him through his mask.

The sounds of earlier morning in any town invaded his ears as he walked out of the pub: the taps of constant walking and the running of barefoot children padded across the stone streets, the banging and creaking of doors opening then closing from homes and stores and the nonstop talking. It was enough to give Kidd a headache and he scowled, placing a hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun. Blinking a few times for his eyes to get used to the brightness of day, he let his hand hang loose by his side as he scanned the crowds for his summoner mage. She would be easy to find since she wore black and the islanders all wore white, but when he found her it wasn't because of that.

It was because she was surrounded by men.

They were reaching out to finger her ginger locks because the women of the island didn't have such a hair color, and even though Kidd couldn't hear the things they were saying to her, he could just tell by the sly smirks plastered on their lips. She didn't like whatever they were saying and doing to her, and she would jerk her head away every time a man would grab a lock of her hair, but another one would just reach out in his place.

That was enough for Kidd to start seeing red, but what really set Kidd off was when one man pulled off her hood.

On instinct, Gabriella covered her pointed ears, but her hands weren't big enough to cover them all, and the men all started to laugh, saying things about it as they pulled on the tips of her ears because they thought seeing something so odd on a pretty woman was humorous.

_That_ made Kidd see in bright ass, crimson red, mostly because the man who was currently pulling at his summoner mage's ear splattered the color everywhere from the newly made bullet hole in his forehead, drenching the other men and Gabriella in blood.

Gabriella flinched as the iron liquid whipped against the skin of her cheek, painting it with deformed red dots and she inched away from the man so his lifeless body wouldn't fall on top of her, but then she yelped as another man began to fall on her after the ringing echo of a bang followed after, but then she was jerked way by a force pulling the metal on her clothing before she crumbled with the bloody corpse to the ground and she felt the strong arm of Kidd wrap around her waist.

The remaining men looked stricken in fear, paralyzed to the ground in shock as they stared at the deadly look coming from the pirate captain, and this may have been what saved them because Kidd deemed them unworthy to kill and shifted to wrap his fingers around Gabriella's wrist then pulled her away.

The white robed islanders darted away from the scowling, feared pirate captain as he stalked through the streets, avoiding his angry prowl that looked ready to kill anyone within the closed range of his path, but then they all sighed in relief as he turned sharply down an alleyway.

Kidd continued to turn down alley after alley, avoiding the main streets because he didn't feel like being watched at the moment. Not that he cared, he would have just killed anyone if they looked at him in the wrong way. Then he slowed down his pace, and he switched his hold from gripping his summoner mage's wrist to her hand. Why? He didn't know, and he just went along with his gut.

Though, Gabriella didn't understand his logic and stopped in her tracks, digging her heels into the ground so that Kidd wouldn't end up dragging her.

Kidd jerked to a sudden halt at the resistance from behind him and he turned to look at her. "What?" he snapped, a sour mood settling in over his rather happy one he had when he woke up.

"Why are you holding my hand?" she questioned, staring at the pale hand with black painted nails within her tanned one.

Kidd's mind: a car, driving crazily down a foggy, night road, screeching as the faceless driver tries to gain control over the wheel. The car loses control and is forced off the wet, black paved street, rolling down a grassy hill until _BAM!_ The car collides head first with a tree off to the side; causing the engine to burst and flames engulf the metal object and all within.

Kidd lost all senses in his brain, causing it to go dead, completely spark out to nothing as his neuron said '_it's time to go home_' and turned out the lights.

He didn't have the slightest clue on how to answer that since he couldn't even answer it for himself, and sadly, when his neuron came back to work the first thing that came to his mind after his metaphorically brain damage was '_what's a car_?'.

"Kidd," the voice of his summoner mage brought him back to reality, and he saw the questioning look still on her face and he just blinked back at her. "Kidd?" she repeated, waving a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Kidd." She snapped her fingers, quickly over and over.

That snapped Kidd from his current and completely blank thoughts and he ripped his hand from hers; he felt that was the thing to do?

Again, Gabriella didn't seem to understand his logic, though this time he didn't understand it either, and she reached out to grab his hand with both of hers, holding it gently.

Kidd blinked, his neurons saying they were going to go on break. "What?"

"I—I like holding your hand." She answered simply, looking away from him with a red glow blooming in her cheeks.

Before the car crash, he still didn't know what a car was, could happen within his brain again, Kidd tugged her along, just letting her hold his hand. "Let's just go back to the pub," he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

><p>Kidd walked aimlessly around the second floor of the pub where the rooms were located, just strolling at a slow pace to regain feeling back in his brain after the whole incident during the alleyway with the…holding hand thing. Though, he only held her hand in the alleyway, once they were back in the open in the main street filled with people, he let go; he had a reputation to keep up. At least Gabriella understood <em>that<em> logic.

He sighed; he didn't know what was happening to him, going brain dead like that was just…not like him? He never had that happen to him before, not like that. Sure, he had his moments where he didn't know what to say or do, but not like this, not to the point where his brain was conjuring up things he didn't know about, which brought him back to _what the hell was a car_, he still didn't know.

Rubbing his temples, he let his fingers massage the tension building from a headache and he continued to walk until he came upon an open door. Curious, he looked around the doorframe, spying his summoner mage looking into the mirror above the sink in the bathroom.

She didn't notice him as he watched her with interest since she didn't have her cloak with hood over head as usual. She just subconsciously rubbed her ears with a deep frown on her features, watching her reflection do the same.

A hairless brow rose above his eye as he watched her. "What are you doing?"

When he spoke, she noticed him in the background of the mirror and yelped with startle, making a small smirk of amusement cross his lips, and she whipped around to face him, her hands leaving her ears and gripping the edge of the counter tightly. "Nothing!" she said in a rushed tone of breath, looking away from his stare with nervousness that caused pink to form on her cheeks.

Kidd just held his gaze on her, finding her skittishness very amusing in his eyes, but he turned away from it with a shrug, pivoting on his heel to leave.

"Wait!"

He stopped his retreat away from his summoner mage when she tugged on the sleeve of his coat, pulling him back to the doorway. "What?"

"C-can I—I ask you something…real quick?" she looked down, shifting back and forth on her feet sheepishly.

Kidd started to feel uncomfortable with the way she was acting. "What…?" he asked slowly.

"Well, um…" she released her small hold on his sleeve and started to rub the back of her neck nervously, and Kidd saw the blush swarming her cheeks. "Um…d-do you think I look…cute?"

Kidd's mind: Two cars, driving on hazardously icy streets, skidding with screeching wheels across the frozen barren wasteland called a road until they were about to make a merciless impact until _BAM!_ The world turned into a fiery, blazing hell on ice as a deer jumped in the middle before the deadly and bloody collision, metal crunching violently as red covered the formerly white snow.

_That_ word was _not_ in Kidd's vocabulary.

Even within the deepest parts of his mind where no one could even peer into, _that_ word did _not _exist. _That_ word, along with others associated with it, was never uttered from his lips, not even within the deep pits of his mind. A guy like him: a feared, deadly, and violent pirate captain did _not_ use a word like _that._

Kidd felt like that deer in headlights, what headlights were he didn't know, just sitting blankly for the impact of the cars, and he still didn't know what fuck a car was, _what the fucking hell!_ He just stared at her, his eyes blinking ever so often as he took in her appearance.

She was looking away, obvious embarrassed by the question she asked as the small, bashful pink blush turned her entire face crimson red and she started to rub her pointy ears again.

Okay, so…maybe, just maybe, Kidd would admit that maybe she was…_that_ word, though he couldn't say that out loud, he couldn't even say the _actual_ word in his mind for fucking pete's sake! "Why?" That was a good thing to say, right? Since if he told her no she would probably freak out, in a way he couldn't even fathom: either get more embarrassed or bitch out about it, which ever one, he didn't what to see.

"Because those guys from earlier were saying that there was no way a girl like me could be cute with ears like these." She answered with a frown, her fingers grazing over the long shell of her ear.

"I think they're fine." Kidd bit out, rage filling his gut; he would need to hunt down the rest of those men later, but his rage simmered down to nothing when he saw the look on her face.

The look of frowning embarrassment turned up right into a grin. "Really?" she asked with so much enthusiasm that Kidd had to take a step back when it hit him like a wall.

"Yea—" Kidd started to say slowly, but then stopped when her arms wrapped around his torso, sneaking her hands passed his coat so they were pressed against his bare back so her cheek snuggled against his chest, but as soon as they were there, they were gone and she darted away with a skip in her step.

Kidd could only blink at the reaction that caused her to hug him.

"Thanks Kidd~!"

The singing tone in her voice snapped him away from shock and he scowled. "_Don't talk like that!_" He growled, stalking off after her.

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><p>Kidd grunted as he watched his crew acting like drunken, violent idiots, scaring the other pirate crew within the pub, not that he cared since they were at least scaring people in the process of their idiotism, but then the look of expressionless turned to amusement when he watched all the tavern whores following Killer around; apparently for some reason women liked his first-mate's since they didn't know what was under the mask and they all wanted to know what was there.<p>

But that's not what made it amusing: it was Madeline.

It was obvious plain that the girl had an obsession with Killer, anyone knew that, and well, she didn't like other women hitting on his first-mate.

Kidd chuckled, watching Madeline brutally bitch slap a whore for touching Killer's arm seductively, then she went on to punch the other women within the tavern that tried to get close to Killer, causing a full out catfight among all the women in the bar that his crew just egged on with whistles and cheers.

Expect for Killer, he just stood there like a tree.

Also, Gabriella, since she was sitting in the chair next to him, resting her chin on her arms that were folded atop the table's wooden surface as she watched the tavern fight. "Madeline really has some problems." She commented, pushing away from the table so she was leaning against the back of her chair.

"I though she was your best friend," Kidd said, though he smirked as Madeline roughly pulled the hair of one whore while trapping another in a headlock and then kicked a third in the gut. "Friends don't say that about one another."

"It's the truth, I've told her many times while growing up, well, only when it comes to guys, you know?" she looked over to him with a small smile. "Plus, you call Killer a '_fucking blonde pansy_' when you're mad at him, and isn't he _your_ best friend?"

Kidd just grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and propped his feet up onto the table then crossed his ankles, making a small _bang_ echo with the cheering. He just watched the show, seeing all the women fight over his first-mate, and then he started to wonder something. "Do you like Killer, too?" it was too late for him to realize that he said that aloud rather then inside his mind.

Gabriella sighed, and he didn't even need to look to know she was rolling her eyes, and she swung her legs over his, draping them across like a cloth and she rested her head against his arm. "No," she answered. "Don't you remember what I told you before?"

"Yeah," Kidd replied, glancing down at her blushing face that was slightly hidden by the fur of his sleeve. "I remember."

"Well," she continued quietly. "It hasn't changed, just to let you know."

"Oh," was his response and he turned his attention away from his summoner mage, or, he tried to, but she legs were distracting him since they were in his field of vision. She had nice legs; and he started to lick his lips subconsciously while he thought about those legs and how—

"Hey, Kidd."

Kidd snapped away from his daze and looked down her at, thinking that she noticed, but he saw she had her eyes closed.

"C—can I ask you a question?" she asked, her brows twitching with nervousness.

Kidd stiffened slightly; was this another brain dead moment for him? "Sure…"

She paused for a moment, opening her eyes half way to show her golden eyes above her pink blush. "Do you like me, too?"

Kidd stiffened completely, his body going to frozen stone at the question, but hey, at least his brain didn't die. Did she really just ask that, did she really just ask _that_ question to him? Well, fuck. He could lie, of course; he was a pirate, pirates lie…but he didn't want to lie to her. Wait…what the fuck? He didn't want to lie and he wanted to tell her…the truth?

He couldn't do that, and that caused him to go into a silent raging fit. Standing up abruptly, causing Gabriella to fall to the ground, Kidd stormed off to his room, because he felt like that was the_ only_ thing he could do and once in his room, he slammed the door shut and crashed onto his bed face first with an irritated groan.

"This all so fucking retarded," he grumbled with a muffled voice into the covers with hate; this was just way too much for poor Kidd.

* * *

><p>OoCism for Kidd...again. Sigh. I hope it was funny though.<p>

Killer is such a babe magnet, but it's never a girl he wants. Poor guy. I feel like I abuse our favorite masked blonde.

Also, I don't think cars are in the One Piece world? At least, I haven't seen them, or remember them.


	23. Happy Valentine's Day!

Finally, a special chapter for _His Heir_. And it makes up for the last two chapters that were rather short~ :)

But it's rather OoC I feel, but then again Kidd + Valetine's Day = OoCism (in my book at least).

So, since I believe this was just going to OoC, I just put on my shades and skates and rolled with it, so this will be very OoC. But not some mushy, gushy crap that makes one gag because Kidd is so out of character it's scary, you know what I mean? Well, you don't know until you read now, right?

So, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but OCs and plot that is not in this chapter are mine.

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><p>Special: Big winners!<p>

It was wet.

_Very_ wet.

Gabriella didn't like to be wet; it was rather uncomfortable and unbearable to be wet all day long, and nowhere on the Kidd Pirate's ship was there an umbrella. God forbid there was something that could shield anyone from the rain because it would make them all look like sissies. That just made them all a bunch of pansies because they wouldn't have at least one umbrella for a certain summoner mage along with her peer because they were the only girls on the ship and it didn't matter if they had an umbrella just because they were girls. But _no_, Kidd probably thought that would make him look bad because members of _his_ crew were using umbrellas.

Though, Gabriella was able to improvise, by using Kidd ironically.

When she saw the rain coming down in a haze after they docked at port, Gabriella first cursed under her breath for an umbrella, but then she saw Kidd and his large, fuzzy coat that seemed to keep his body dry, at least the parts that were covered. Like a light bulb going off above her head—making Madeline stare at the top of her head questionably—Gabriella made a mad dash for Kidd, feeling the rain splattering against her cheeks and her heels pitter-pattered in the puddles forming on deck. Then she darted into Kidd's coat, snuggling up to his warm, and dry, side as she used him as make-shift umbrella.

Kidd blinked, glancing down at his summoner mage clinging to his side through his goggles, and then looked back up to his first and second mates.

Killer and Blaze just blinked back, speechless of what just happened.

Kidd mentally shrugged it off, his arm that wasn't in the sleeve of his coat looping around Gabriella's waist; it was awkward if he didn't since his summoner mage planted herself between his side and arm, and he continued to discuss what they needed to have restocked before they left the island.

Killer and Blaze were still focused on Gabriella, but then they soon focused back on Kidd's orders, and Blaze nodded, turning on his heel to repeat the orders back to the rest of the crew.

"Kidd." Killer drew out slowly, making his captain look at him through his tinted goggles.

Kidd ran a hand through his wet hair, pushing it back so it wasn't hanging in his eyes anymore since his goggles weren't really helping keep it up, but they stopped water from dripping into his eyes at least. Then he shot a glare towards his first-mate, who looked worse because his long blonde hair made him look like a drowned cat. He knew what Killer was implying since his first-mate had talked to him about it earlier this morning, much earlier then he would have ever liked; he hated waking up early. "Let's go." He ordered, shifting on his heel and tightened his grip on Gabriella so she wouldn't fall when he started to walk away.

He heard the heavy soles of Killer's boots slouch in the puddles as the walked down the gangplank then along the dock, but then the sounds of rushed steps made him glance over his shoulder and he saw Bedros and Madeline running to catch up to them, and they looked miserable, which of course brought a smirk to Kidd's face.

"I hate the rain." Bedros grumbled, shaking his head to get rid of little puddles forming along the dips on his cowboy hat.

"Suck it up." Killer flatly said.

"You should wear a big coat like Kidd, too~" Madeline pouted, sticking out her lower lip as she moved strands of short black hair that were sticking to her cheeks to behind her ear.

Killer didn't need an explanation on why. "Fuck no," he liked the rain now; it kept the pests away.

Madeline huffed, crossing her arms over her flat chest, which made the fabric _slap_ together with a wet, watery sound.

"_Congratulations!_" a voice shouted out of no where and all of a sudden a man who looked like a T.V. host with a microphone along with cameramen, soundmen, and lighting men popped out of no where with umbrellas shielding them, and their equipment, from the pouring rain.

Out of reflex, Kidd whipped out his pistol and shot one of the soundmen.

The man fell to the ground, dropping the odd contraption on a stick he was holding and started to clutch his bloody shoulder.

"Man down! Get the stretcher!" a medic popped out from the crowds, followed by some other medics and they lifted the wounded man onto the stretcher, then marched away chanting, _hup, hup, hup_, then the soundman was replaced by a new one magically.

"What the fuck," Kidd snarled, not liking the fact that this busy-body of a man in a cheesy suit with bowtie startled him, so he placed the man at gun point.

The host pulled at the collar of his suit nervously. "Well…you have been selected as our big winners today. So you and your girlfriend get a special day planned for Valentine's Day!"

Bedros started to laugh wildly at the thought of the summoner mage and pirate captain as a couple, which earned him a bullet to almost hit his hat, and he dashed to hide behind Killer for safety.

Madeline fainted with a bloody nose bleed because she thought that the stone devil hiding behind the masked blonde looked hot for some reason in her mind.

The two men looked down at her in confusion.

Kidd scoffed at the display; he actually knew why Madeline fainted whereas his first-mate along with the stone devil didn't, but he turned away from the revolting sight and scowled at the host. "She's not my girlfriend," he bluntly said, making Killer scoff, which earned him a narrow glare of death saying '_s.t.f.u, you fucking blonde pansy_' from the red head. "And Valentine's Day is a stupid holiday that I want nothing to do with." He continued then turned on his heel sharply, almost making Gabriella fall from the sudden shift.

"But you get free stuff!" the host protested.

That made Kidd stop.

Free stuff?

Well, who could argue with free stuff; the world lived on free stuff, and as a pirate, Kidd liked free stuff. "Fine," he grumbled, he may have liked free stuff, but that didn't mean he liked the idea of celebrating Valentine's Day, though he didn't mind hanging out with his summoner mage.

The host began to sparkle with shimmering eyes, which gave Kidd half the mind just to walk away from the offer of free stuff, but before he knew it, he was sitting in some café on a little bench that barely fit him and Gabriella since the waiters were stupid enough to make them sit together like that; one little bench.

Stupid idiots.

Though, Kidd scowled at the fact that he was in a café, pirates don't do little fucking cafés; they were fucking stupid, too.

But Gabriella was more upset, for some reason that Kidd couldn't explain, and she voiced the reason why she was extremely pissed off. "How stupid are they to make us sit on this bench!" she motion to the small metal seat they were on. "I mean, can't they see how muscular you are and how fat I am!"

Kidd snapped away from his grumbling thoughts and stared at her. "You are _not_ fat," he corrected, since she was indeed _not_ fat, though she wasn't thin either, like Madeline who was a stick, she was normal. Plain and simple.

"I am, too!" she countered in a snap that made Kidd blink in confusion on why she was arguing back. "Just look!" she opened up her cloak to her sides then pulled up her shirt to reveal her stomach.

Was he supposed to see something? Because all he saw was a well toned stomach that had a caramel colored tan. "I don't see anything."

"It's because you're a man," she rolled her eyes at his response. "You wouldn't understand."

"You know," he glared mildly at her. "Most women would take that as a compliment."

"Well," she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not like most women, if you hadn't noticed."

"Don't worry, I have." Kidd answered, draping an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close as he smirked down at her slyly. "You're feisty; I like that in a woman," though she was extremely moody today, still for a reason that Kidd could not explain.

Gabriella scowled at the closeness, finding that it _really_ pissed her off and she shoved her hand into Kidd's face to make distance.

The hand over Kidd's mouth muffled the curse that came out and he looked down at his summoner mage darkly; what the hell was her problem today? Was it the rain making her mood miserable to be around? If it was, then the sun better hurry up and get its ass out.

The waiter that was serving on them came by quickly, said something in French even quicker, placed two menus on the table in front of them, and then left just as quickly.

The two pirates just stared.

"What did he say?" Kidd questioned, looking down at the menu that was, of course, in French; like he was supposed to know how to read French.

"I don't know," Gabriella scoffed with attitude sharp on her tongue, making Kidd shoot a scowl in her direction because he still didn't know what the hell was wrong with her. "I can't read French."

"So then what are we suppose to do?"

"You're asking me? You're the Captain here."

A vein started to bulge at Kidd's forehead; he was at his breaking point. He thought Gabriella and him were over this phase in their life, but apparently not. Maybe it just had to do with the fact that it was raining _and_ it was Valentine's Day, because it was a shitty day with shitty weather to boot. "You better watch that fucking tongue of yours or I will rip it out, I swear." He warned her, grabbing up the beer that the French waiter had placed on the table for them before he quickly left, but before Kidd could even take a sip of it; his summoner mage was straddling his hips. She was so fucking bipolar today, and Kidd couldn't figure out _why_?

"Don't drink it." She said dryly with a glare, glancing down at the liquid in the cup half way to his lips.

Kidd just scoffed and started to try and enjoy his beer; because beer fixed everything.

Then Gabriella's hand wrapped around his on the cup to stop all movements. "I'm serious, don't drink it. It's poisoned."

Kidd blinked at her wordlessly. "How the fuck do you know that?"

"Just look at it, does beer usually have black flaky shit at that the bottom?" she quizzed him harshly, pointing a single finger at the liquid.

And she was right, there was an old looking substance at the bottom of his cup, and when he shot a glance at the waiters, he saw a guilty, frightened look.

That brought a chaotic uproar to come onto the café, causing it to go up in flames as the smell of fresh food no longer lingered in the air, but the smell of blood and burnt flesh, which Kidd found more appealing anyway, but he still stormed away from it pissed that someone would try to poison him like that.

"Did you really have to burn the place down?" his summoner mage questioned harshly, still on her moody side which brought so much pain to Kidd's ears. "I can understand killing the guys, but burning the place down was just too much."

"Would you just shut up?" Kidd finally snapped at her, extremely irritated with her attitude, whipping around to tower over her smaller form compared to his. "You're just so fucking bipolar today, first you're fine and quiet, then you are a crazed bitch that doesn't know when to shut up." He growled at her, his hairless brows digging together as bits of red hair hung in his eyes over his goggles.

Gabriella just held her scowl, crossing her arms over her chest as the rain poured down on her, making her red-orange tinted hair stick to the sides of her cheek. "It's called mood swings, you moron. I just so happen to be on my period."

Kidd groaned, slapping a hand to his face. "Well that's fuscktastic, thank you _so_ much for sharing that _wonderful_ piece of shit with me."

Gabriella just scoffed, walking around Kidd and continued on her way down the almost vacant street except for a few stragglers of men and women trying to get things while in the bad weather.

Kidd's eyes watched her walking away until he was looking over his shoulder at her, then he groaned inwardly, and followed after her. At least he knew _why_ she was so fucking moody now.

They both continued to walk together, that is until Gabriella got sick of being in the rain and used Kidd's coat once again as her umbrella. Though, Kidd had half the mind to push her away, but he that feeling swarming in his gut, telling him if he did that it would just make his summoner mage snap again, and right now she was actually quiet. So, he just let her hide under his coat, her soaked body clouding his formerly dry skin, which made him rather uncomfortable. Then they came to a small canal where little boats were all lined up and vacant, a form of travel that the islanders used when it was nice out.

Kidd scowled at the break in the street, his eyes looking back and forth to find some sort of bridge they could cross or something, but then his summoner mage emerged from under his coat.

She stood in front of him, shaking off her hood to let her drenched ginger colored hair stick in more odd places on her face, and for some weird reason, Kidd found himself brushing the wet strands to rest behind her pointed ears. Then she stepped forward, smothering her face into his muscular chest and mumbled in a muffled voice: "Sorry."

Kidd rolled his eyes; she was really on some massive mood swings today, but he didn't say anything that had to do with that and just placed and hand atop her head.

Placing her hands against his chest, she pushed away slightly, making his hand move back to his side as he looked down at her curiously.

"You know," she said smoothly, grabbing his hands and swinging them back and forth. "Today is _Valentine's Day_." She stressed the word, hinting at the obvious.

That made Kidd roll his eyes again; she really, _really_ had massive mood swings to the point where it was making him crazy, but if anything, this was probably his favorite swing, and he wasn't about to let it pass by.

Releasing her grip from his hands, he planted them onto her hips, digging his black painted nails into the fabric to reach her skin, which make her hiss in slight pain. He smirked, pulling her until she was up against his body and he leaned over her. "You're just fucking bipolar today." He taunted, leaning closer to her as she placed her hands on his shoulders to pull herself up closer to him.

Closing their eyes, they were about to kiss, but then that annoying voice of the host interrupted them, forcing them to jump apart, and another soundman to get shot in the shoulder, courtesy of Kidd's pistol.

"Man down! Get the stretcher!" the same medic popped out from a corner, followed why same other medics and they lifted the wounded man onto the stretcher, again, then marched away chanting, _hup, hup, hup_, again, and another soundman popped out of no where, _again_.

"You're really starting to piss me off." Kidd growled, pointing his pistol at the host's forehead.

The host pulled at the collar of his suit. "W—well it's time for the next part of your day…" he said slowly, ushering them along.

Before Kidd could even protest, he found himself in a gondola with his summoner mage, sailing away on the gloomy rainy day. So, overall Kidd was pissed. One, because he was on a boat in the middle over water, and two, it was still raining.

How stupid could these people be?

"Aren't gondola rides Italian? I thought this was going to be a French date." His summoner mage commented to the side as she crossed her legs over one another then folded her arms over her chest.

"I don't fucking care," Kidd scowled menacing to the wet air in front of him. "And who the hell said this was a _date_?"

"It was kind of implied." Gabriella said frankly.

Kidd just grunted; his arms across his chest as with his muscles tensed to the point where he thought they would pop.

This was turning out to be a fucking shitty day, but he was slowly, after at least an hour on the gondola ride, starting to relax, letting his arms unfold and drape his rather soaking sleeved arm over Gabriella's shoulders, not that she cared since she was already wet. Then the moment of peace was ruined as the man steering the gondola started to sing something in Italian, making Kidd whip out his pistol for the third time and shoot the underside of the man's chin and blood splattered on the two in the boat as the man fell into the water with a _splash_.

"Now, I'm even more bloodier than before, that's just peachy," Gabriella scoffed irritably, wiping blood from her cheek. "And now how are we going to get to shore, genius." She snapped glaring at Kidd.

"Killer is going to throw us a rope." Kidd bluntly said.

"But Killer isn't even here."

Then a rope landed in the summoner mage's lap.

"Yes, he is." Kidd grinned mockingly, grabbing up the rope and pulled the boat to shore as Killer acted like an anchor.

"So this is where you have been all day." Killer drew out in small amusement as he helped Kidd get safely onto land, he didn't want to Kidd to somehow fall into the water because something like that could happen.

"Sadly," Kidd grumbled, running a hair through his red locks to get them out of his eyes. "And where have you been all day?"

"Running from Madeline," Killer admitted truthfully.

Kidd's brow raised in curiosity. "Thought you would have fought first."

"Oh, I beat the shit out of her, and then ran when she was down." Killer elaborated.

"_Killer~!_" the voice of the thin summoner mage sang through the alleys, making Killer cringe.

"Fuck," Killer hissed.

Kidd just chuckled, a grin widened on his lips.

Through his mask, Killer shot Kidd a glare and shoved him over to where Gabriella was standing. "Do it now."

The smile on Kidd's face fell to a frown. "No."

"_Killer~!_"

"Do it now or you're going to miss your chance, you fucking ginger."

"I'm not going to do it when you're here!" Kidd hissed in a low tone.

Killer promptly turned around to look the other direction.

"You fucking blonde pansy." Kidd grumbled and stalked over to Gabriella.

She was wringing out her hair as she stood under a tree to protect her from the rain, but then she stopped focusing on her wet hair and looked up when he was standing before her. "Wha—"

He didn't let her finish and grabbed her upper arms, pulling her away from the ground as he crashed his lips onto hers.

Her gasp of surprise was muffled as he kissed her quickly and then just as quickly pulled away, placing her feet on the ground. She just stared up at him, her jaw slightly slack, blinking her eyes repeatedly trying to full understand what Kidd had just did.

Kidd looked away at her with a scowl craved into his features. "Happy Valentine's Day, Gabriella," he grumbled.

* * *

><p>Yes, I made the worse possible day for Kidd and Gabriella.<p>

Rain, and period mood swings.

And yes, Gabriella has major mood swings when on her period. In a matter of minutes she could be angry, quiet, upset, annoyed, bitchy, cute, guilty, seductive, irritated, annoyed again, then bitchy again, and speechless.

Ah, poor Kidd. At least he knows a kiss shut her up. ;D


	24. Chapter 23: I'll admit it, okay?

Just to clear things up, last chapter was a special and not a real chapter, so it had nothing to do with the current plot that was going out, but this chapter does.

Now, I like this chapter, but once again, more OoCism from Kidd. Sigh, I feel bad that I'm doing this to the poor guy...hope all you people are okay with it at least.

Once again Tigereye13, you have more amazingly good ideas. I can totally see Madeline cutting off some of Killer's hair, and you can bet that will show up soon in the up coming chapters. But I don't think she would dye his hair, 'cause let's face it, Madeline is obsessed with out favorite masked blonde, and probably worships him like a god (she probably as a Killer shrine under her bed), so she wouldn't dare mess with his moe-joe, though just cutting a little piece of hair and putting it in a locket it's that bad (when in reality it is, but that doesn't bug her).

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 23: I'll admit it, okay?<p>

Kidd groaned, long and hard as he lied sprawled out on the bed of his room at the pub in miserable agony, staring up at the rafters on the ceiling with an annoyed scowl. He was unbelievable infuriated with himself for one little iddy-bitty reason that was having a huge impact on his entire person as a whole, he did not like it one bit…but then again he did.

He groaned again, his hands slapping down onto his face and then he ran them over his sweaty cheeks, pulling at the skin. He just could _not_ believe this was happening to him; that he, Eustass '_Captain'_ Kidd had _this_ happening to him.

That _he_, the man that showed no mercy to anyone no matter the circumstance, not even if money was put on the table because he would just take that in the end; the man that killed countless people, men, woman and children, all with his bare hands, not even counting his weapons and devil fruit; the man that burned down whole islands for just looking at him the wrong way or just because one little thing about it ticked him off; the man who raped—that was something he wasn't going to do _anymor_e because of a certain reason—tons of women and then killed them afterwards because he was just like that.

The man that was overall a brutal, violent, heartless, devil: a devil that had a _crush_ on a girl.

He was in an internal conflict with himself because he could not decide whether he should like the idea or not.

Back when he was still in the South Blue on his little island that he called home before he became a pirate, he would make fun of other guys for falling head over heels for a girl during their teen years, also because he wanted to just start a fight for the fun of it, laughing at them non-stop with a large grin while flicking his wrist over his head, doing the universal sign of '_whoosh-crack_' whipped until the brawl happened because the boy he taunted blistered scarlet red and wanted the torment to end, and on a side note, Kidd would usually win.

So now, Kidd felt like every man he ever did that to was doing that to him now, the whooshing that ended with a loud snapping crack played in the back of his mind, he could just hear the whips going off because of Gabriella, his summoner mage that was born to tame devils, and he, known as a devil by many, had been tamed.

And god, he _hated_ that part.

But he also hated the fact that he didn't know what to do, and sadly there was only one person he could talk to about it, so getting out of bed, not even bothering to put his coat or boots on, he went to the room across the hall.

"I admit it, okay?" Kidd grumbled, stalking into Killer's room as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Huh…" Killer mumbled groggily, lifting his head from the pillow, his eyes hidden by the long locks of blonde hair hanging in front of them, but his head turned to see that the clock said 5:16 a.m. and that made his head jerk back slightly in shock. "What the fuck are you doing up this early? You can't even get up out of bed at ten on your own."

Kidd scowled and ignored the comment. "I admit it," he rolled his eyes, focusing them to look at the far corner of the room. "I like Gabriella."

"About fucking time," Killer scoffed, flopping his head back onto his pillow. "Now get out, I still have two hours of sleep before I need to really wake up."

"I don't know what to do though," Kidd muttered quietly, embarrassed that he had admitted that, even if it was Killer. "I need help."

Killer slowly peeled his head away from pillow, turning his head back towards Kidd. "What the fuck do you think I am? A girl? Figure this out on your own." He bluntly said, then placed his head back into his pillow.

"I'm serious though, you fucking blonde pansy!" Kidd hissed through his clenched teeth. "I really don't know what the fuck to do!"

There was a sharp, muffled groan from Killer, and he slowly lifted his head for the third time to look at Kidd. "Just tell her, you fucking ginger." He snapped harshly.

"I—I can't…" Kidd looked away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Pussy."

A vein bulged on his forehead and he snapped a scowl towards his first-mate. "Shut up, and give me _real_ advice." He snarled.

"Fine," Killer sighed, resting his head in a hand on his propped up elbow. "Ever heard of actions speak louder than words?"

"Yeah…?"

"So, kiss her," Killer told him bluntly with a shrug.

A look of complete mortification crossed every single feature on Kidd's body as he stiffen to stone. "What the fuck? No! I'm not doing that shit!"

Killer shook his head, and Kidd knew behind his bangs that he was rolling his eyes. "Then find something else to show her how you feel," Killer said, and face planted into his pillow. "Now fucking leave, you wasted fifteen minutes of sleep that I can't get back."

"But what do I do?" Kidd tried to question.

Killer was silent.

"Fine," Kidd scoffed. "Be an asshole," he grumbled as he stalked back out of the room, making sure he slammed the door with a long echoing bang before he went to his own room. He sighed heavily as he leaned against the door of his room after it was closed, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. "Actions speak louder than words, huh," he mumbled to himself. "I think that could actually work," though, he wasn't going to tell Killer that because the blonde was being a dick.

So, Kidd slowly got ready for the day, doing all the necessary things until he lastly put on his weapon strap across his chest then draped his coat over his shoulder while slipping one through the sleeve like usual, and then placed his boots over his feet. With his normal attire complete, he went out to find his summoner mage, and he found her a little bit too quick since she was walking right passed his door when he opened it.

He thought she would have stopped to say something to him, but she just kept on walking, like he wasn't even there. He blinked, wondering what was wrong with her, but then he remembered last night when he totally ignored her question and stalking away from it in rage: she must be angry with him.

Well, shit: that's not good.

Storming out of his room, not even bothering to close the door behind him, he caught up to her and draped and arm over her shoulders. "Let's go out," he said, but then wished he didn't because she would probably take it the wrong way compared to what he meant of going out, as in into town, and that was enough to make the skin on the back of his neck prickle with heat.

"Why?" she questioned in a monotone voice, not even bothering to look up at him.

_Think Kidd, think._ What to say, his lips pressed into a thin line of thought until his mind was kind to him and he was able to think of something. "You need to look for that gem still." He answered smoothly.

"Madeline looked the other day," she replied simply.

Well, fuck.

"And just like the last island, she told me it wasn't here."

"Ah," was his response, and she didn't say anything else to him, nor did she move from under the arm that was resting upon her shoulders as he moved towards the door. So, he took that as a sign to just go with the flow of things and leave the pub with his summoner mage and try to show her how he felt without being stupid about.

And it was an epic fail.

Kidd spent the whole day trying to find a way to get his upset summoner mage to warm up to him because she was clearly pissed. She may have showed no emotion, but he just knew she was angry with him because of what happened the night before and whenever he tried to start small talk with her, she would just hum with a _hmm_, nothing more nothing less.

It made Kidd want to bang his head into a wall until blood dripped down his face, or, go down an alleyway shove her against a wall, placing a bruising kiss to her lips and tell her he liked her.

That idea made him stop.

That was fucking cliché, which made it fucking stupid, so he would _not_ be doing that any time soon, which was going to be **never**.

But then, by the end of the day—this act almost made his heart stop, but not for the reason one would thing—she held his hand. Now, it wasn't because she held his hand, but it was because she did it in the crowded streets of the city, and he saw people _staring_. And in truth, after his heart did a sudden leap, it pissed him off that they were staring at them with wide eyes. Can't they hold hands? Is that a wrong thing to do? So, with the answer in his mind in check, he was about to whip out his pistol to shoot each and every person that was looking at them, but before he could even lift his free hand, his summoner mage lifted the one she was holding, asking:

"Why do you paint your nails?"

Kidd stared at her dumbfounded; he really didn't know. Most of the stuff he wore was to get people to stare so that he could kill them actually. He had a thing for killing people; sometimes he liked to give a reason, other times, not so much. So, he just shrugged.

That made Gabriella shrug, and she let go of his hand.

Then they just kinda stood there staring at each other, blinking their eyes repeatedly as one waited for the other to do something or say something. Time was slowly ticking away until Kidd mumbled that they should get back to the pub because it was getting late, so he turned on his heel, heading towards the building with his summoner mage right behind him.

His crew was mostly there, some were probably still wandering around town, but the ones that were there were already drunk as they drowned themselves in cheap booze, taunting the other men of the bar with slurs, hoping to get a full out tavern brawl to start just for the hell of it.

Kidd just shrugged it off, naturally, and strolled over to a high back seat by the fireplace.

Killer was there, lounging in the cushions of the second seat there, his elbows on the armrest so that his laced fingers were flat across his stomach. The masked blonde turned his head in the direction of Kidd, sending him a message that asked: _did you tell her?_

Kidd just looked at him with annoyance.

Killer scoffed, his head rolling slightly that signaled his eyes were doing the same.

Kidd scoffed as well, turning his head away from his first-mate and he looked at his summoner mage who had sat herself crossed legged on the floor in front of the fireplace.

Hmm, well, that wasn't going to do.

So, Kidd sighed, leaning forward in his chair and grabbed the chain that was on the back of her cloak, hoisting her up from the ground and into the chair with him, making her fit snug between the armrest and his body.

"_Wha_—" she started to say, her voice rising in pitch, the first thing she had said with emotion in it all day.

"Don't." Kidd told her, saying to just go with it.

There was a crackling sound to his side, and he shot a glare towards Killer.

Gabriella was tense, her hands close to her chest so she wouldn't touch his because of the awkward position she was placed in, but she only made it awkward since she was leaning as far away from his body as she could.

Kidd rolled his eyes at this, using the arm that she was pressed up against like it was some sort of wall to pull her closer to him, making her head rest against his bare chest and her hand do that same so she had some support.

And she squeaked.

Kidd blinked at the small sound, looking down at her to see her eyes were sealed shut and a crimson blush was on her cheeks. He wondered if she would ever get over this blushing thing, it was annoying, though…it was kinda c—

He chomped down on his lips violently, _that_ word almost daring to be said within his mind. He shook his head, tossing aside the thought and turned to look at the fire, watching the flames flickering back and forth in the wind as the door opened and closed, the sound of more of his crew returning to the pub to torment the other pirate crew that made the mistake of staying here.

Then they made the big mistake of blowing up at his crew, starting a full out war that could cause the place to burn down. Not that Kidd cared, but he had important business to attend to still. "Killer," he turned to his first-mate. "Make sure they don't tear the place down, they can do that tomorrow before we leave."

Killer just nodded his masked head, slowly getting up from the chair and turned towards the violent brawl in the background.

Though, Kidd got up as well, wrapping an arm around Gabriella's waist so she stood up with him then he turned towards the stairs.

"Where are we going?" his summoner mage questioned, looking passed his body to see the brawl was in full swing, the other pirate crew battling Kidd's crew like the pub's dinning area was some sort of warzone.

"Bed," was the simple reply.

She shrugged; her shoulder's movements small because Kidd had her pulled close to her side as they climbed up the steps, but when she tried to escape from his hold to go to her room that she shared with her peer, he held firm.

"You're sleeping with me tonight."

"_What!_" she stuttered, her eyes opening wide as Kidd walked through the still open doorway of his room. The blush that was on her face that had settled down to the color pink shot up to the darkest shade of red Kidd had ever seen as it covered her entire face, and he could have sworn that it was quickly traveling all over the skin of her body.

Kidd rolled his eyes. "Not like that," he assured her, though he would admit he would have liked it that way.

"O—oh…" she mumbled quietly, avoiding all eye contact with him.

He just shrugged as he shut the door then proceeded to get ready for sleep with the last things of taking off his coat, weapon's strap, then he sat on the edge of his bed to take off his boots before he crawled under the covers, laying flat on his stomach. He heard Gabriella move around the room, and he half expected her to leave, so he was slightly surprised when the sheets next to him began to rustle then the mattress shift as she rolled into bed with him.

Though, Kidd didn't bother to do anything else since he was exhausted, today was a rather long day for him; this actions speak louder then words thing was harder then it looked, and so, he was slowly falling asleep, his breath going heavy and deeper as his mind started to fade out, that is, until his summoner mage broke the silence that had a small buzz in the background from the fight downstairs.

"Kidd."

"Hmm." He grunted.

"Why am I sleeping here?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said so."

"Oh."

There was a small break of silence.

"Kidd."

"What?" he bit out in small irritation.

There was a small pause. "Do you li—"

He cut her off, rolling over quickly to her side of the bed, looming over her form as he clamped both his hands over her mouth before she could ask it. "If I answer it, will you go to sleep?" he finally gave in, this actions speak louder then words thing was not working out, and he would make sure to tell that dick Killer his idea didn't work.

Gabriella nodded her head, a waiting look in her eyes as Kidd looked away for a second with a sigh.

Then he looked back and said. "Gabriella, I, Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd, like you. There. Happy?"

Gabriella nodded again.

"Good," Kidd grunted, rolling from off of her and back to his side of the bed, smothering his face into the pillow as he felt a hundred pound weight being lifted off his shoulders.

Maybe just telling her wasn't that bad of an idea after all, and Killer's advice was cheap.

But Kidd failed to notice that Killer did suggest that all in the beginning.

* * *

><p>Relationship has been made! Finally, so now, that Kidd is done going through this '<em>emotional<em>' part of his life, I can made him a little bit less OoC then he has been in the last few chapters. :D

Also, I have this weird feeling that I just teased people into thinking there would be a lemon in this chapter because Kidd said that Gabriella would be in sleeping in his room. Hmm...I don't know?

And isn't Killer a totally awesome best friend?


	25. Chapter 24: Chaos in a Shell

Guess what everyone. This is my longest chapter for _His Heir_ I have ever written, it's even longer then chapter one! I feel so proud. *sniff, sniff*

But also guess what: know how I said that there wasn't going to be anymore OoC? _Well~_ I lied! This chapter is chalk full of humorous OoC madness! :D

But, I'm also fleshing out more of the crew, and we actually hear more about them, though they don't make an apperance in the chapter, but hey, at least I'm giving Kidd more of a crew with names, you know?

And Tigereye13: there is a special part in here just for you, you'll see it when you get to it. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but OCs and plot are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 24: Chaos in a Shell.<p>

Kidd stared at everything around him that was happening with shock, but then slowly his face began to warp into a look of complete frustration that was laced with an unbelievable amount of fury that made him roar to the heavens: "_What the __**fuck**__ is with all the chaos!_"

Now, it's not that Kidd didn't like chaos, though creating it was one thing, but when it happened to him and his crew nonstop it was starting to make his blood boil and made him wonder why on earth he deserved this torture.

Was it because he admitted his feelings to Gabriella? Because that night was when it all started to happen…

* * *

><p>Gabriella's brow started to twitch uncontrollably and she buried her face further into her pillow with a sharp groan while curling her legs as something hairy continued to touch them, but every time she moved her legs, the hairy thing was still there touching the smooth skin. It was starting to annoy her and she didn't know what it was. Then she groaned into the pillow again when she remembered that Kidd was in the bed with her and it was probably his stupid hairy legs that continued to touch hers.<p>

He needed to shave if he wanted her to continue to sleep with him.

But then she eyes snapped open at the realization of something _very_ important.

Kidd was wearing pants, so his bare skin wouldn't have been able to touch hers, and most importantly, Kidd was on the _other_ side of the bed and he was as dead as a doorknob, not even moving the slightest inch from where his face was planted into his own pillow.

Shooting up into a sitting position, Gabriella stared at the blankets over her legs and saw a bundle moving under them, making her golden eyes open wide in fear and she screamed bloody murder.

Kidd may have been out cold, but the sound of his summoner mage screaming like she was on the verge of death made him jerk awake, twisting the blankets that started to tangle around his legs, and it didn't help when Gabriella threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and pressing their chests together.

"Kill it, kill it, _kill it!_" she chanted into the crook of his neck, muffling the high pitched squeal in her voice.

Kidd didn't need to question why as he saw the small lump moving under the covers, crawling towards his summoner mage's legs and he snatched up his pistol that was on the nightstand, pulling the trigger on the thing.

There was a squeak of pain, then the moving lump stopped completely, the only thing that seemed alive around the area was a crimson pool of blood seeping through the blankets.

"_I hate them, I hate them, I hate them,_" his summoner mage continued to chant; her nails starting to dig into the skin of Kidd's bare back.

"Hate what?" he questioned, turning his head slightly to see the top of her head as an arm started to wrap around her back.

She didn't answer him and continued to chant away about hating '_them_', so Kidd decided to move the covers, and there he saw was a bloody _rat_.

He blinked; another déjà vu moment, and that made him wonder: why did vermin like his summoner mage's legs?

He looked down at her thighs that were peeking out from the blanket, the early morning sun shining through the window by the bed, giving the tanned skin a warm glow that just looked soft to the touch.

Question answered.

Then a squeaking of hinges from this door brought him away from staring at Gabriella's exposed skin that was just tempting him to touch it and he turned to see Killer walking in, dressed and ready for the day.

It looked like he was going to ask what happened, but then he saw the rat staining the white sheets with blood. "Well," he finally said. "Looks like we can _actually_ get off the island before noon since you're up."

Kidd scowled at him. "Shut the fuck up, you fucking blonde pansy."

* * *

><p>Since Kidd was wide awake with no chances of going back to sleep, the Kidd Pirates in fact left the island before noon; they left at eleven. Why? Because Kidd wanted everyone on the island dead; he had a habit killing whole islands because one little thing pissed him off, like having a rat in his bed that scared the crap out of his summoner mage that morning.<p>

When his crew heard this they just shrugged at it and followed their orders, which confused Kidd slightly. The crew didn't seem to find it surprising to hear that Gabriella slept with him that night, though they were surprised that **it** didn't happen.

Kidd blinked that his crew didn't seem to feel any emotion, like he was going soft or something worse and that's when Blaze told him that they were just waiting for him to admit that he liked the summoner mage, and that made Kidd glare at Killer with narrow eyes.

Fucking blonde pansy needed to stop saying shit to the crew.

Since his crew didn't seem to care that he and his summoner mage had a _thing_, they thought that maybe, just maybe he would lighten up on them, and only them because Kidd could be a little harsh on the crew at times. Never to the point of killing them, but enough to put them into a coma, which would drive the doctor of the ship, Doctor Dicklehelmer James III, though everyone called him Doc, but on a bad day he was called Doctor Dick. But anyway, it would drive Doc up the walls to insanity when he had someone in his smoke smelling infirmary, which everyone found to be ironic because as a doctor one would think he wouldn't smoke cigarettes, yet he did and if questioned he would answer:

"_Kidd Pirates equals stress_."

And of course Kidd made it more stressful on the doctor when he put crewmembers into comas for a few weeks maybe a month or two, so the crew thought it would calm their captain down a bit now that he had a girl in his life.

_Not._

Kidd got more aggressive because that's when he started to notice that Gabriella actually _talked_ to some members of his crew. He never noticed it until now, so when he saw them talking to her, he stared at the menacingly with a '_back off_' growl so low it couldn't be heard, but his crew heard it, especially Jacques.

The man was a flirt, a big fat French flirt that loved women, and the only reason that Kidd had him on his ship was because he was the best bomber he had ever seen. So many marine ships, forts, and marines themselves had been done away with by the little hand sized barrels that man had strapped to his chest and belt. He could be a pretty brutal guy, but women were his weakness, and it should be noted that Jacques hated it when Kidd killed women, and it should also be noted that Kidd didn't give a fuck about what the bomber thought.

But when Jacques would full out _flirt_ with_ his_ summoner mage, Kidd would start seeing red really quickly, making the bomber flee from the scene of almost kissing Gabriella's hand just as quickly, just like any other of his crew that was caught talking with Gabriella.

That would confuse his summoner mage slightly when the men talking to her dashed away, but she wasn't oblivious to it since when she turned around she saw Kidd there and she sent him a menacing glare back to '_knock it off_', though she didn't give him that look when Jacques was around; she actually looked at him rather relieved that the awkward situation was avoided.

But with anyone else it was different and she would look at him like _that_. Now, Kidd may like Gabriella, but _that _look was a look filled with an order, and he wasn't about to let her control him more than she already had, so he would punish her, though a bit differently compared to throwing her into the sea, which would really piss off Doctor Dick because he had Gabriella coming to his infirmary with bloody necks at least twice or three times a day because Kidd bite her until the skin broke.

Kidd was a pirate, so he liked it rough.

So to avoid anymore chew outs from the doctor who was the only one, besides Killer, who could get away with it because the man was that crazy to do it, Kidd would hang back in his office, with Gabriella as well of course; he had to keep her under his watch for reason…reasons that he didn't fully understand, but whatever.

In his office, Kidd was looking over the newspaper he had gotten that morning, which in reality was noon, and he was happy to see that his bounty had gone up to 400 million beli, he had finally caught back up with Strawhat after his stupid stunts at Impel Down and Marineford over a year ago, and with the other Supernova missing, Kidd could once again reach the top of the bounty game.

Oh, and Killer had gone up as well, but that wasn't really important at the moment now since his summoner mage was sorta sitting in his lap, when on any other day it would have been a spare chair to the side that was pulled up or just sitting on his desk, which annoyed him and he thought she was doing it on purpose. So the fact that she was in his lap was a bit surprising, since the last time they sat in a chair together she freaked out like a blushing fool and tried to make minimal contact with him. But now here she was, sitting comfortably in his lap like it was the chair itself.

Not that he minded, of course, but he still found it rather confusing and when he voiced this observation to her, she simply said:

"What's the point since I know you like me now? Nothing to get embarrassed about."

That made sense, and he was glad that her blushing phase was gone and over with, though deep, deep, _really deep _down, he felt like he was going to miss it, just a little though.

"Hey!" Gabriella brought him out of his thoughts as she jerked backwards into his chest, holding out a bounty poster in front of her face. "I know her!"

Kidd blinked, looking over the top of her head to see she was holding the bounty poster for Bones of the Heart Pirates. "How do you know her?" he questioned curiously.

Gabriella shifted in his lap so she was looking up at him over her shoulder. "Who _doesn't_ know her, her mother is a leading mage general for _Regnum carcere _of the Novellus region and she is also one of the _best_ summoner mages out there!" she squealed, making Kidd roll his eyes. "She's like my idol."

Kidd just blinked after hearing that, leaning over to get a better look at the bounty poster. There was a higher bounty of 100 million beli, whether or not she would be considered a supernova was debatable since she wasn't one before she entered the New World, and there was also a different picture. The girl was no longer on a skeletal owl in flight, but rather standing atop of four coffins that held for beings inside that were greatly hidden by thick shadows. The picture looked to be also captured in the middle of battle since flames and deformed bodies were clustered together, a trade mark of her smug ass captain, but that made him wonder how the marines actually got pictures like these in the first place; those little pests, annoying like bugs that need be dug into the ground by the heel of his boot.

"Hey," Gabriella drew him away from his musing and he looked down over her shoulder again to see a new bounty poster that made him scowl. "So this guy is her captain; Trafalgar Law, known as the Surgeon of Death or Dark Doctor; wanted dead of alive for that high price of 330 million beli." She said dully. "Though, he has cooler nick-names then you." She commented shortly. "You're just known as '_Captain_', which is kinda lame, no offense."

Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes as he leaned back in the cushions of his seat, but then his eyes locked onto his summoner mage's hand that was tapping his arm repeatedly.

"Hey, hey, _hey!_" her voice went up to a childish squeak and made Kidd cringe. "Is that a _bear!_"

Kidd snapped away from being annoyed and leaned over her again, his chin resting on her shoulder as he looked down at Trafalgar's picture. It was the same as before, the smug ass smirk planted on the North Blue native's lips as he was pulling out his large sword, which made Kidd wonder if he was trying to make up for something, from its sheath amongst a cloud of fire. But Kidd looked closer, his eyes locking onto that first-mate of the rival pirate crew who was barely visible behind the other supernova in the background, in a fighting stance getting ready to kick a marine.

_That, _made him rip the paper from her hands violently, ready to tear the thing into little pieces, saying: "_No._"

"But I saw it," she yelped, trying to snag the paper back before he could shred it anymore. "And I know for a _fact_ that's a bear!" she protested, trying to salvage the pieces that she couldn't save from Kidd's hands. "It was a polar bear in an orange jumpsuit!"

Kidd didn't answer her, but rather zoomed in onto her neck, which made her shut up instantly with a flinch before his lips could even made contact with her skin. He rolled his eyes at the reaction, and just moved towards her neck again, making Gabriella inch away even more. "Tch." He tsked with a scowl, placing a hand on the other side of her head. "Hold still," and he didn't want for a protest and placed his lips to her skin, but it wasn't the skin of her neck, but rather the skin of her hand trying to shield it.

"Stop doing that!" she hissed, twisting her neck around to glare at him. "I still have bruises from the last time and I don't need more, but most importantly it's rather inappropriate to do that!"

Kidd leaned back, staring at her in annoyance. "You're acting like its something completely perverted; it's only a kiss."

"That is not a kiss! It's a _bite_, a fucking _bite! _And I don't like it, so it could be considered perverted." She huffed and turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kidd scoffed, but then a thought popped into his mind and a sly smirk crossed his red painted lips. "That's not perverted," he told her smoothly, reaching around to grab her wrists to pull them away from her body. "This is," and he released his grip on her wrists sharply and slammed his hands down on top of her breasts, squeezing them tightly as his fingers felt the exposed skin that wasn't covered by her shirt since she wasn't wearing her cloak.

Gabriella reacted violently, clawing at his wrists to try and pry his hands away since Kidd was enjoying the touch of her skin greatly and was not about to let go anytime soon, which just made his summoner mage curse and scream at him in a completely different language that he couldn't understand, not that Kidd cared, he was a bit preoccupied at the moment. She continued to squirm in his grasp, wiggling to try and get free, but that only helped build with his arousal forming in his pants, which made him grip even harder on her breasts until his nails started to dig into the skin of her exposed cleavage, and that made his summoner mage hiss out more curses upon him in another tongue.

Then the moment was ruined, in Kidd's mind at least, as Killer opened the door, but what _really_ ruined the moment was when Gabriella slammed the heel, and he was extremely lucky she was barefoot, of her foot between his legs right onto his erection, _very hard_.

A gasp of air was choking Kidd as the pain made his body tremble, his eyes opening wide as his body stiffened to stone, and his summoner mage took this moment of complete and utter agony to escape, scampering over his desk, dashing passed Killer and out the door while covering her chest.

Kidd groaned in misery, leaning over to place his head between knees as his hands flew to his swollen crotch.

There was a cracking sound, signaling that Killer found the display to be very amusing.

"Shut up," Kidd grunted with a breathy tone. "And get Doctor Dick."

* * *

><p>Doc told everyone that Kidd had to stay in bed for the rest of that day because something happened, and when questioned what happened, he simply waved it aside, stalking back into the belly of the ship to his infirmary smoking his cigarette. The unanswered question made all of them want to know what it was that happened to their captain to make him go bedridden for the rest of the day, so they turned to Killer next, and the masked blonde just walked away shaking his head with a chuckle that cracked through his mask, leaving the crew baffled and confused, except for one person, that is.<p>

Gabriella was leaning against the wall her bed that it was pressed against, her legs curled up against her chest as she gripped her toes to keep them warm, and she sighed with a frown. She sorta felt bad for doing that to Kidd, though he deserved _something_ for acting like that. She looked down at her chest; the skin that was showing because of the halter top style shirt she was wearing made the claw marks from Kidd's nails visible. Bright red, crescent moon shapes along her flesh, the slight stinging still there, even from just looking at them.

He really did deserve it since it wasn't just a teasing or flirting thing, he was making it full on torture, plus he was going to bite her again, which was going to draw more blood, and she didn't want that to happen, and so she did the only thing she could thing of, which was to jab her heel to his crotch.

But she didn't think it was going to be _that_ bad, and that made her feel worse because it was like a low blow on her part, striking him where the sun don't shine to the point where he actually had to stay in bed.

True, she had used methods like this on other men because they were acting like horny dogs, but it was never enough to place someone in bed, and she knew Kidd was a tough guy. Though the men in the seaside bars would usually be able to get back up after only a few minutes of walking awkwardly or just lying on the floor moaning. So the fact that, well, she hit Kidd _that_ hard, made her feel pretty guilty.

She sighed again, resting her head back against the wall, pondering over something that could atone for the wrong she had _overly_ placed on Kidd, but then a noise from under her bed made her snap away from the thoughts and she crawled to look over the edge to see what was under the small crawl space. "Bedros!" she snapped, looking at the upside down stone devil with a glare. "Why are you still under my bed?"

Yes, ever since the incident that happened at the jungle island, and Gabriella still didn't know what it was, the stone devil hid under her bed. _All _the time.

"I'm hiding from Kidd, you know that." He replied simply, wiggling out some of the way so his head was poking out as he lied on his back, looking up at Gabriella who was looking down at him from the edge of her bed.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Kidd's in bed at the moment and can't get up, you know that, and why don't you hide under Madeline's bed?"

Bedros scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Well, there's no room under there."

An eyebrow rose in interest at this since Gabriella's and her peer's bed were the same size, so space shouldn't have been a problem. "What?"

"She has a Killer shrine under there." Bedros smirked with a short laugh.

Gabriella stared at him with disturbed eyes, her brows furrowing together. "You're kidding, right? I know she's crazy, but she's never done something like…_that_ before…"

"Nope," Bedros's smirk widened as he laced his fingers behind his head. "She seems to really be obsessed with his hair from what I could see; she even cut a few locks off his head apparently." He chuckled humorously, but then a sly grin crossed his features. "I wonder what would happen if he dyed his hair…"

"I don't even want to hear about it." Gabriella sat up in her bed holding her hands up to end the conversation, but then slammed her palms down on the covers to help propel herself off the side of her bed, then started to walk over to the door. "I'm going out and seriously," she looked back at him while opening the door. "Get out from under my bed." She shot him an annoyed glare then shut the door behind her and head towards Kidd's room.

She just kinda stood there for a moment outside his door, wondering what she should do. Kidd would probably, no, he _was_ pissed at her; what guy wouldn't be? She looked down at her toes sheepishly, thinking over all the things that could happen if she went into his room: for one, as her captain, he could get mad at her because she went into his room without permission since he was probably asleep; two, Kidd hated to be woken up at late hours during the night, so he would probably get mad at her for that, too; thirdly, and most importantly was the fact that she stomped harshly onto his precious jewels.

So, did she want to kindle the flame of Kidd's rage?

No, but she guessed she didn't have control over that since she started to open the door to Kidd's quarters slowly, slipping through the small crack the door made then shut it with her back.

She was surprised at the inside of Kidd's room. She had never really gone it there before, and she hadn't slept with him since the whole…rat incident weeks ago and that made her cringe.

She_ hated_ rats.

Then she shook her head, and examined the room lit by the moonlight of the potholes in the wall.

At first impression of Kidd, she would have thought that the room would be darker; black curtains everywhere, stained blood decorating the walls and floors as the stench remained permanent until the ship reached the end of its sailing career, and bones of the misfortunate souls he had killed littering the floor, but no, that's not what it looked like.

It was a normal room, and it was kept rather clean as well, but maybe that was because Kidd spent a majority of his time outside his room. Also, there were shelves of books everywhere, which really surprised her, she wouldn't have thought Kidd would own so many books; he really didn't seem like the reading type in her mind. Then, amongst the clutter of hard covered books in shelves was a simply desk filled with sea charts and maps and a couch was nearby as well, a couch that looked to only be there for show since it looked brand new and never sat out, and then lastly a bed with the sleeping red head.

He was lying flat on his stomach, the blanket pulled down enough so that all the pale skinned muscles of his back were showing in the dim light and his head buried into the pillow, his arms snaked under it, almost like he was holding it while he slept.

Gabriella shifted back and forth on her bare feet, debating whether or not it was a good idea, but once again she didn't have an option in the matter as her mind pushed her forward to the bed's edge and she slowly sat down on it.

The shift made Kidd stir awake and he grunted something into the pillow saying either '_who the fuck is this?_' or '_what the fuck do you want?_' which one it was, she didn't know, but she did know he said the f-bomb.

"It's me," she answered, and she saw him stiffen, the muscles on his back clenching completely until they were tense enough to show every single little detail and outline. "And I wanted to say I'm sorry, I kinda went too far."

Kidd was silent, his muscles slowly relaxing until he mumbled: "Whatever."

She expected an answer like this; he wasn't going to say '_it's fine_' or '_it's all good_' since she kicked him in the balls so hard he had to stay in bed, so she took it as a fair thing to say and patted his back before getting up, well, tried to because the next thing she knew she's face first in Kidd's pillow with him crushing her against the mattress as he lied on top of her, his chest pressed firmly to her back, making her feel every single muscle that she seemed to fail to notice every other time they had fallen on each other.

"You're weird, you know that." Kidd sighed, burying his nose into the crook of her neck.

She rolled her eyes. "Says the man that wears a clashing fashion outfit." She scoffed, turning her head to the side so her cheek was pressed against the pillow and she saw the desk on the other side or the room.

"Shut up," Kidd grunted, sending a light, jabbing punch to her side and she flinched at the small sting.

"It's true though, your goggles are still so fucking ugly, that it just something I'll never get used to." She said, earning her another jab to the side.

"Suck my dick." He growled in annoyance.

"Too flat for my taste," she retorted.

Kidd punched her seriously this time, making her yelp at the serious pain inflicted onto her side.

"Ouch!" she shrieked, wiggling from under him to try and escape his grasp. "You abusive brute, don't—" she didn't get to finish and she yelped again as the pressure of Kidd's body was lifted as she was flipped over onto her back.

"Don't do stuff like that; it's a tease." Kidd told her with a mild glare.

Gabriella didn't answer and just stared; she had never seen Kidd like _this_ before.

All the make up was washed from his face, making his over all facial expression lighten, even if he was glaring at her and little bit of red hair dangled down over his forehead while everything else stood up at all different angles, still making his head look like a great wispy flame, but without the horrid goggles. So, Kidd actually looked…_normal_.

_That_ made her blush dark crimson red from seeing Kidd in this oddly attractive sight.

Kidd blinked, his face falling from the glare to a startled look at the sight of his summoner mage blushing like that and her eyes all of a sudden closed. "What's wrong?"

Silence.

"Gabriella?" he shook the bed, trying to get her to move.

More silence.

Kidd blinked, but then his eyes opened wide with shock. "Did—did you just _faint?_"

And of course, silence.

Kidd growled grabbing his summoner mage's shoulders roughly then pulled her from the mattress, swinging her back and forth to try. "Why the fuck did you _faint!_" he screamed to the unconscious Gabriella, but then said: "And I thought you were _over_ your blushing phase!"

* * *

><p>The incident left the pirate captain and summoner mage in an awkward place the next morning as they stood by the railing watching the new island approach. They stood there in silence as Gabriella shifted back and forth on her feet, huddling deep within her cloak like it was a turtle shell and Kidd just drummed his fingers tips against the railing of his ship.<p>

_Whoosh!_ The wind went by as the tension rose, waiting for someone to speak.

"_**WHERE THE FUCK IS BEDROS!**_" the unbelievably, and uncharacteristically, loud voice of Killer roared as he stormed out of the ship's belly, making everyone gawk in complete shock.

The masked blonde first-mate of the Kidd Pirates was now a redheaded ginger.

As the new appearance slowly settled into the crew, they could no longer hold in the laughs as they saw the formerly light blonde hair was now a deep shade of red that matched their captain's, but there was only one person who wasn't laughing, and that was the barrel next to Gabriella that was shaking out of fear.

Killer stomped over to the barrel then kicked it violently to knock out the trembling stone devil cargo onto the deck and then he wrapped his fingers around Bedros's neck. "_What the fuck did you do?_"

"Well," Bedros laughed nervously. "I wanted to see what would happen if your hair was dyed—"

"_You sure you want to see that._" Killer growled menacingly.

"I—I didn't mean _that_," Bedros yelped. "I meant—"

"_**O.M.G!**_" the voice of the thin summoner mage screech and she ran over to Killer with shocked eyes, grabbing up his newly red dyed hair. "What did you do to you hair?" she demanded, but didn't even let him get a word in before she started to continue. "I'm sorry Killer, but this is the end of the line until you get your blonde hair back. We are officially over until then, do not speak or look at me until then. Got it?" she didn't wait for a response and promptly turned on her heel and walked away.

Killer's mind: Fire works shooting up into the sky with a long whistle until _BAM!_ It explodes into a million different colors as more continued to go off and a chorus of angels sing _Alleluia_ in the background.

Killer turns to Bedros saying: "Please tell me this is permanent."

* * *

><p>Even though Bedros had told Killer the dye was not permanent, since he didn't know if he would die or not, his first mate was in a rather happy mood, red hair and all, since Madeline would go nowhere near him or even look at him as they walked through the new town they docked port at. There was really nothing there, just some buildings, roads…and other stuff.<p>

Okay, fine, so Kidd really wasn't paying attention to his surroundings like he should have, but rather on the hand that was lightly gripping his.

He thought that Gabriella would act awkwardly like before because of what happened the other night, but after they left the docks, she grabbed his hand gently, her fingers wrapping around his. It was something different he was feeling, something different from the joy of killing, stealing, and over all being a pirate. He sorta liked it, but deep down, he sorta hated it, too, because it was making him feel…mushy? Was that even a word to describe what someone feels about someone; they feel mushy? Hmm, it didn't sound right, so maybe…what about…

…

What is _that?_

Kidd's train of thought completely stopped as he stared at everything in front of him: there was Bedros who had stepped out of line for a moment to look at something, what that something was Kidd did not know, but what he was looking at was the giant chain that was flying through the background with a demonic clawed hand attached to it and within the fingers of that hand was a man screaming for his life.

It was like watching something in slow motion: the man getting closer and closer to the stone devil with _BAM!_ The man slammed into Bedros, knocking the stone devil roughly into Killer, which sent them flying through the air until they landed on the ground with Killer on his back and Bedros on top of him pretty much looking like they were trying to screw themselves right in the middle of the god damn street.

Then Madeline screamed the cry of a fangirl, blood gushing from her nose as she fainted and fell to the ground on her back with a _thud_.

Gabriella looked at the situation in blushing horror and also fainted, but Kidd caught her in his arms before she even hit the ground.

And Blaze, his second-mate, stood there awkwardly to the side, feeling a bit lucky that he was out of the loop on this one.

Kidd stared at everything around him that was happening with shock, but then slowly his face began to warp into a look of complete frustration that was laced with an unbelievable amount of fury that made him roar to the heavens: "_What the __**fuck**__ is with all the chaos!_"

"It's not chaos," a smooth female voice answered him, which made the summoner mages and stone devil snap away from what every they were in the state of and look towards the speaker with wide eyes. "I prefer to call it a disaster, a misfortune, since when a man says something like that to a lady something bad is bound to happen."

Gabriella gasped along with Madeline, and then they both cried: "_**Calamity!**_"

Kidd blinked, but he wasn't blinking at the fact that the summoner mages knew this woman, but it was because Bedros called her '_Mother_'.

* * *

><p>So, for all your questions of <em>where was Bedros<em> and answer is: under Gabriella's bed.

And gosh, I had liked writing this chapter, it was _so_ much fun. It just makes me giggle.

P.S. If you get my little 'pun', you get lots of pats on the back. :D


	26. Chapter 25: The Story

Guess what: short chapter, sorry guys, but it's a good chapter (I hope), though I feel it's a bit boring because I don't have any OoCism in it...

Also, sorry for the crappy editing of the last chapter. I need read over the chapters even more now...sigh.

Hmm...I guess there was actually two puns in my story rather then just one. Thank you pointing that out to me, Trafalgar Riley, but I'm afraid I don't get your joke...I'm sorry (hangs head low in shame).

And pats on the back to you Alpenwolf! You found the pun (at least said it aloud, anyway)! And again, I enjoyed all your reviews.

viet: I think you are one of the few people who have said they loved Bedros, even stone devils need love, and all questions about Bedros's mommy will be in this chapters. :)

RobinFleur194, don't worry about reviewing since I know you are reading them still, all that matters right?

Sorry Tigereyes13 for all the errors you had to see while reading, I knew I should have read it over one more time, gosh darn-it. But yes! I made the Killer shrine and his dyed hair in honor of you because you help me with all my mistakes, you should just become my beta tester, seriously. Though that would probably just take up your time, so, eh.

Sarin-sama: I do enjoy the name of Kidd's doctor as well, it has a nice ring to it: Doctor Dicklehelmer James III aka Doc, though also known as Doctor Dick. :D _fun~_.

And mukii, I can see your concern about how fast the relationship is going, that's why I'm making road blocks, because every relationship has them. Also, about Kidd's bounty, well I don't know what his new bounty is yet, so I want to wait until I know it, so for now he will have a small bounty that goes up because I don't want to give Kidd his huge bounty and find out its nothing like that, you know? As for Gabriella, she's staying low, so she won't be getting a bounty anytime soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 25: The Story.<p>

Kidd could only stare at the woman, his eyes barely blinking while he stood there stiff in shock. She was like a fucking Greek goddess: curves in all the right places, letting the fabric of her clothes hug tightly to her hourglass figure, plus huge tits and an outfit that showed it _all_; a long bright red dress that cupped her large breasts between a deep v-neck cut, and a long slit went up the side of her dress to show off one curvy leg and to top it all off, she had long flowing black hair that seemed to ripple in the wind even if it wasn't present. The only thing that threw him off though was the mask covering her eyes; it looked like something out of a demonic masquerade ball since it was half a devil's face; glowing green eyes and smooth red metal in place of the skin while two small horns poked out from the top of the forehead.

But then something jerked him away from staring at the attractive woman, thus jerking his mind to an important question, the multiple jerking coming from his summoner mage as she wiggled to escape his arms, wanting to leave his grasp so she could see this masked woman, and when she popped out of his grip, the question popped into Kidd's mind: can he find other women to be attractive now that he admitted to Gabriella he likes her?

The answer was put on a slight hold as he heard a loud grunt from his side, and Kidd glanced over to see that Bedros has successfully jabbed the heel of his boot into Killer's chest, jumping up onto his feet and dashed away and then hurled himself at the woman like he was a four year old, wrapping his legs around her hips and his arms around her neck and saying '_mommymommymommy_' all in a continual sentence.

That was a turn off. He forgot for a moment that this woman was supposedly the stone devil's 'mother', but Kidd highly doubted that; he may have not known about genetics that much, but the two looked _nothing_ alike, _at all_.

So, back tracking to his question about the current woman: **no** he was not attracted to her, since the fact that she was a mother made her extremely old in his mind. But then, his original question came rearing back, which left him wondering about all the _other_ attractive women he was bound to come across. Well, as long as he didn't do anything, like rape them, which was something he used to do in the past, then he should be good, right?

He nodded at the answer his brain came up with, but there was something nagging him like a bitch in the back of his mind, but since the little voice was annoying, like a bitch, he ignored, but also because Gabriella was all of a sudden leading them all back to the ship.

That was **not** how things were since he was the captain. So, he picked up his speed in step, stalking to the front where Gabriella was speaking with the woman in red, and he roughly pushed his summoner behind him, showing her who was the boss around here.

Gabriella glared narrowly at him, not enjoying the stumble back that broke her sentence all of a sudden and she was about to slash back a probably nasty retort, but the woman in red said something in a foreign language, making Gabriella fall back instantly.

This action made Kidd raise a hairless brow in interest, but he pushed it aside and carried on leading the way back to his ship and then to his office to speak with this woman that appeared out of no where, but somehow knew the two summoner mages and was related to the stone devil also.

As Kidd sunk into the cushions of the chair behind his desk, he watched with wide eyes as the woman in red's hands started to glow a brilliant hue of gold, much brighter then what Gabriella or Madeline could do and then all of a sudden, a golden mass filtered from the beams of the floor. Then it started to turn a red color, and give shape of an actually object rather than a blob of nothing. There was cracking of knuckles and then the woman in red across from him on the other side of the desk was sitting on a huge ass demon claw like it was some type of lounge chair.

He blinked, taking in the odd sight silently, and the three women before him started to speak freely among themselves, talking in a completely different language, about something, which that something seemed like the woman in red was scolding the two summoner mages, but then Madeline said something with a sly smirk that made Gabriella blush and the woman in red start to laugh lightly.

Kidd, really hating the sense of being left of the loop because _he_ was the _captain_, spoke up: "That_ thing_ isn't going to leave a hole, is it?" he demanded for an answer as he pointed to the hand.

The woman slowly turned away from chuckling at a blushing Gabriella, and focused on Kidd. "No, it will not," she simply said.

Kidd just grunted, slouching in the seat as he scowled at the woman for a moment. "Who are you anyway?"

"_Oh my God,_" Gabriella rolled her golden eyes as Madeline slapped a hand to her forehead in annoyance.

Kidd shot a deadly look towards his summoner mage, narrowing his eyes to tell her to _shut-the-fuck-up_.

Gabriella shot a glare back that said _make-me_.

Kidd started to stand up, his scowl saying _that-can-be-arranged_.

"Silence, Gabriella," the woman held up a hand, and his summoner mage obeyed immediately, which kinda pissed Kidd off.

Why didn't she do that anymore? Why didn't his summoner mage listen to him? She was doing a decent job at obeying his orders, but now it just tumbled downhill; was it because he told her he liked her?

…

Well, fuck if that was the reason.

"I am Calamity, Captain Eustass," the woman, Calamity, which made a small bell go off inside his mind as he remembered that his summoner had mentioned the name before a couple times in the past.

"And what are you doing here?" Kidd asked.

"I sensed my older brother's magical power nearby, but then it disappeared all of a sudden, and that's when I felt both of my students' magic in close quarters, so I decided to check in on them and find out why they weren't looking for the gem separately," Calamity shifted her head back and forth between the two summoner mages, making her students look down at their feet nervously.

"Like I said, Calamity," Gabriella said. "I was here first."

"Shut up," Madeline scoffed.

"Silence."

"Yes, Calamity," the two summoner mages replied in unison.

"Ah, so you're the one that sent these two to look for this gem they are always talking about." Kidd said, pointing with a finger between the two summoner mages, making Gabriella roll her eyes at him again, earning her a dark glare.

"Yes, I am." Calamity replied simply, ignoring the stare down that was happening within the conversation.

Kidd turned away from scowling at his summoner mage, a hairless brow rising slightly; she wasn't much of a talker, but she was as blunt as hell. "So, what's this gem do?" he decided to question her further, to see how far she would go.

Calamity sighed, leaning back in the palm of the hand she was sitting on as she crossed one leg over the other. "It is a power source, Captain Eustass, we need it to bring down a devil that had been causing more trouble then he should."

"A devil," Kidd slowly, glancing over to see that his summoner mage stiffened, her muscles going tight as her jaw clenched. "What did he do that was so bad since all devils are pains in the asses," he glared at Bedros who slowly sunk into a corner of the room like a puppy who knew he was in trouble.

"True, all devils do cause chaos, but this one caused full out war and will not stop his wicked track until he is forcible stopped." Calamity answered. "That is why I must regain my gem that the council sent away, once that is found then we can work on bringing in this devil of mine."

"He caused a war, a devil being a devil, what's the big deal? Sounds like he's doing his job." Kidd shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's a complicated story that I truly do not know it all, but I can tell you a bit of what I know if that helps you understand." Calamity suggested, but as soon as the words left her mouth, Gabriella's face wrapped into burning, red rage and she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Kidd blinked, staring at the rattled door that looked ready to fall off its hinges.

"Do not mind her," Calamity brought the attention back to her once more as she waved a hand in front of her masked face. "For this has to do with Caden."

* * *

><p><em>There I stood, high in the tree tops, my vision clear save for the old rotten branches and twigs in the way, showing the man I was watching in an image that was barred, like he was placed in an old, brown rusted prison; which was soon to be his future.<em>

_A traitor, the Treacherous Traitor Caden, formerly a grandmaster summoner that worked proudly under the council and the Godden Elders; he was the youngest mage ever to achieve such a rank, only at the age of seventeen he was made into a grandmaster. A mage I helped become a grandmaster, approved of him because I was blind to his true power, the power he was hiding because of my faults._

_I shook my head away from this matter though, it was important, yes, but at the moment it was not since war was raging for two years because of this man, and I came to try and find a way to stop him from going down the wrong path more then he already had, but it was truly to late, I know of this because of the ring._

_He sat there staring at it on his middle finger, sitting lazily in his seat, like he was a bored king on his throne, slouching over in the cushions with an arm propped up on the armrest while a hand cradled his tanned cheek and bits of shaggy red-orange hair. The expression on his face was dull, but a burning gleamed in his golden orbs, his full attention on the blood colored gem embedded in golden metal on his middle finger._

_I grimaced at the sight of that horrid ring; I knew it was too late to speak any reason with Caden now because of a simple ring, but it was far from that._

_It housed a devil, but not just any devil, a devil of my own creation, my child. He was supposed to be perfect, the ultimate weapon to serve his master with no question, but I gave him too much, too much power, which led to free will and I lost control of him and he went insane. Twisted beyond belief, wicked to the core that it made my stomach lurch with pain knowing I made this being that was destroying the very people it was suppose to protect, for a game, for greed._

_I had made a monster, the devil known as Copy Cat._

_Though there was one thing that I couldn't shake off as I got closer to the balcony that led to the room where Caden sat; Copy Cat should have felt my magical essence, even Caden should have no matter how much I tried to cloak it, but the mage was too focused on the gem, his eyes fixated on that hideous ring. Maybe Copy Cat did know I was there and stayed silent, letting my presence go unnoticed for the time being, or, it was so that I could see his ultimate pawn in the twisted game he was playing with the whole nation, tearing the world of_ _Regnum carcere __to pieces just for his own entertainment and so he could add to his collection of souls._

_It was sick, gut wrenching sick to the point where I wanted to vomit my mistakes from within my soul to act as if this wasn't practically my fault. If I hadn't have made Copy Cat then there would have been no war, not anything that was killing the lives of innocent mages and people, and of course my other children that were being dragged into this by their claws running along the dirt until they were thrown into bloody battle. _

_Everyone was dying because of my blindness, and there was nothing I could do but watch the pain swell, feeling it swarm inside me as my eyes focused once more on Caden and that ring, the red gem giving off a crimson light until a shimmering gold mass filtered out from the ring's crystal prison and there, next to Caden stood the devil that started this all._

_ Long crimson hair flowed down his back in waves, framing the horns sprouting from his head and the tanned robes that draped over his muscular build along with wooden bead laced around his neck repeatedly until they all hung low at his chest__. A sly chuckle escaped passed the smirking lips of the devil as a long-nailed finger wrapped around a lock of beads, twirling it around to show off the small and detailed faces craved into the wooden surfaces, all of the same expression that lost souls would have etched into their ghostly faces: grieving._

_"Well, well, well…" the voice of the devil was smooth, but had a twisted note that matched the look on the eerie smirk growing at the corner of his lips. The voice was enough to make me of all people shutter, but Caden did not even move an inch._

_The mage remained stationary, still snug in the cushion of the seat, lounging like it was nothing but his companion in the room rather than a merciless devil that was using him as a pawn, and Caden just turned his head slightly, glancing out of the corner of his eyes._

_"How are you doing this fine day…_Master_?" Copy Cat stressed the word as he bowed deeply to the mage, and I knew for a fact that the devil was mocking him and saw the mage as nothing more than a pawn; whether Caden saw this as well, that I did not know._

_"Ceh," Caden scoffed in annoyance, his brows knotting together as he turned his head fully to glare at the devil; maybe he did see the mockery, but probably not for what it was really meant for._

_"Now, now, _Master_," the devil tsked teasingly__, though it was more of a taunt as he waved a single finger back and forth. "Don't act like that, we are working together, you know." He told the mage coolly, the smirk widening more on his lips._

_Caden held his stern glare steady, and then spoke firmly in his deep voice. "Then you're not doing your job very well, devil, for I still do not have my kingdom."_

_Copy Cat sighed dramatically. "Patience, patience," he said, his head going back then slowly rolling forward to look down at the glaring mage. "These things take time, _Maste_r, but do not fret, your son shall be avenged," a smirked graced the devil's lips once more. "Now, tell me how is your son doing, again? Wasn't it his birthday last week?"_

_The mage scowled darkly at the devil, his golden eyes going so narrow that it would cause one to shutter, which I did since it was such a cold look, but Copy Cat stood firm, his smirk only growing bigger. "My son is the same, in bed and cursed so that he can never walk again because of those stupid pryomancer mages. If the council had listened to me then my son would be fine, but no, they didn't want to disrupt the traditions of our nation because one child was almost killed. The council needs__ to be changed, everything about the council needs to be changed." T__he look in the mages eyes turned deadly, but then slowly, a gentler look crossed his features. "And his birthday was last month, he turned three that day."_

_"Ah!" Copy Cat cooed, rolling back and forth on his heels as a devious smirked drew his lips up. "Such a shame that he could not go out and be like the other little boys and run freely like a normal child since he will never again be normal with such burns on his legs, isn't that right." _

_Twisted. The damned devil was just trying to get Caden's blood to boil until he blew a fuse, it was sickening, like I said before, just watching the mage being wrapped around the other's finger until he could no longer be twisted anymore and became nothing but trash and thrown away, not even a figure in the past._

_The faint smile on the mage's lips twisted into a snarl at the words, and he looked about ready to tackle the devil, and I prayed he would, would end the misery before it got anymore out of hand then it already was, but Copy Cat stopped Caden's movement by slinging an arm around his shoulders, keeping him pinned into the seat._

_"Easy, easy," the devil said in a smooth voice to try and calm the bubbling rage he got from the mage. "Don't worry _Master_, the plan is set, the pawns are in place, and soon the puzzle pieces will be locked and there will be no turning back. Everything will be over soon." He whispered, and I barely heard the words, but Copy Cat must have made sure that I heard them because he was no longer looking at Caden, but rather was looking at me while his hand wrapped around the mage's shoulders brushed against the golden mask attached to the black wool fabric._

_I scowled at the motive the devil was after, what he wanted._

_Caden scowled darkly at the hand on his shoulder__ and he roughly pushed the devil away from his presence. "Just get me what I deserve."_

_Copy Cat jumped back with the motion, landing firmly on the heels of his feet and he fell suddenly to a crouch, hanging his head low to chuckle in a deep voice that I could barely hear, and I feel like he didn't want me to hear it, and truth be told I didn't want to hear it either. "That you will, _Master_, that you will."_

_And Caden got what he deserved when McCrane came to drag him away until he was hanged, all to save the day._

* * *

><p>"That is all I was ever able to find out about Caden and his intentions, that something happened to his son, his wife would never speak of it, it was almost like she became mute after everything," Calamity continued to explain. "The council would have killed her and her son if they found them, but I kept them safe until I could speak with them about pardoning the family since they truly had nothing to do with it. The pardon wasn't put into place though, but they agreed to place a small region for the family to live within under my care. It was the least I could do because Copy Cat is a son of mine and caused them misfortune."<p>

Kidd sat there in complete silence, taking in all the information, but sadly the first thing that came out of his mouth was: "He got a girl knocked up at the age of seventeen?"

"Sixteen," Calamity corrected simply, unaffected by the question. "It was a common practice back then, to marry young. Now, if you'll excuse me," she slid off the demon hand she was sitting up and fell to her feet and flipped a lock of long black hair over her shoulder and then the hand disappeared in a puff of smoke, the floor of his office still in one piece. "I must check up on Gabriella. _Mortalitas be with you._" she said with a small bow, then turned on the heel of her bare foot, heading towards the door with Madeline behind her.

Bedros, who was still in the corner, shot up from his seat and skipped after her saying: "Who is Mortalitas, Mother?"

Then it clicked in Kidd's mind, that he still had one more question. "Wait."

Calamity stopped walking, turning back to face the pirate captain.

"So, this devil you're after…is your son?" he questioned. "But I thought Bedros was your son since he called you 'Mother'."

"Bedros is my son as well," Calamity answered shortly.

Kidd gave her an odd look. "How the fuck is that possible, you two look nothing alike."

Calamity just chuckled deeply. "You see, Captain Eustass," she said smoothly in a mischievous tone. "They are my children because I created them since I am the Goddess of Summoning Magic."

* * *

><p><em>Gasp!<em> Bet you weren't expecting that one there.


	27. Chapter 26: Ominous

Really short chapter, yes, I know, I'm sorry, but this is just a bit of foreshadowing and lay out that will take us into the next part of _His Heir_, so my excuse is: short but important. :D

Tigereyes13: Now, it would be interesting to see Law and/or Kidd go to the island. I will store that idea away for another day and when it pops up (if it does) I'll tell everyone it was your idea. :)

Trafalgar Riley: I have never seen the word epic (lol) in a review so many times, which is epic (lol). P.S. I died laughing when I read singing Doctor Dicklehelmer James to the tune of John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith.

Alpenwolf: It was seventeen, sorry about the error and it has been fixed. Now for the flash back, it was Calamity telling the story, so it was her in first person, and Calamity is an old hag because she is a goddess of magic, like Crazy Sane is a god of magic, so that is why she is old, yet young at the same time. Also, you were right about Bedros :D. And I forgot to say this last chapter, but you were my 100th review! So, you get something special, anything that you want: story, song, poem, a rib from Rose that Sane pulled out, a lock of red hair from Killer, Bedros's cowboy hat that Kidd shot a hole through, etc.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 26: Ominous.<p>

Kidd walked out onto the deck of his ship, rubbing his neck that was riddled with knots from an annoying amount of stress, stress that was caused from his summoner mage that is. He took a deep breath in and a deep breath out, taking in the calmness of night, and actually enjoying the peace and quiet for once, the only sound of the waves hitting the wooden boards; it was a soft sound compared to what was still ringing in his ears from his summoner mage, her voice rising in pitch still buzzing his eardrums.

He and Gabriella had been bickering over almost everything since they didn't see eye to eye on anything, even when it came to the height of something because she was shorter than him, but that was aside the point, they were arguing non-stop it seemed, and it was going on for far too long.

He was still the captain of the ship, and that meant she still had to treat him like one in certain instances, like when he ordered her to do something. But she didn't do it, she did nothing at all, though it wasn't because she was just using the fact that he liked her against him, but rather it had to do with when her teacher came and told him the small snippet of Caden.

Ever since that was brought up, the same scowl the moment she left the room was carved into her features, and she would either ignore everyone or fight with them, literally. One time she kicked Jacques in the stomach just because he started to flirt with her. Not that Kidd minded, but Doctor Dick had a real big problem with it because he had the bomber coughing up blood all over his infirmary and who was the one that had to clean that up, well no other than Doc Dick himself, and Kidd got an ear full about that from the doctor, which led Kidd to chew out his summoner mage because he got chewed out by his doctor and that led to his summoner mage bitching back to him.

Overall, it wasn't a pretty day and it was driving him up the wall like crazy, leaving his mind with only two options.

Option number one: find some way to shut his summoner mage up, because biting her neck wasn't cutting it even if he was doing it literally since all it did was make her more upset then she was at the start of it all, and he was on the verge of just shoving her into the ocean again, just for old times sake.

Option two: walk away. Now, usually this isn't what he would do, walking away from a fight was never what a man did in general, but he didn't want to end up actually hurting her; she was upset over family issues that have dug into her skin deeply, and Kidd was smart enough to see that the wound wasn't going to be healed any time soon, no matter how many times he would tell her to suck it up and move on.

So he walked away, well in a violent way, like shoving her into a wall so that he could get to the door; it was a way to vent out some anger at least.

Kidd sighed, taking in the scent of the sea, the salty taste filling all his senses, making his muscles relax and he closed his eyes as a light breeze fluttered through his hair and coat, but then something out of the norm hit his eardrums. He reopened his eyes, his gaze following the sound to see that Calamity was standing on the railing, leaning over while a hand held tightly to the rigging of the ship as she looked out into the distance, like she was searching for something on the horizon line.

It wouldn't surprise Kidd if she was looking for her older brother, thinking that if she stared out into the ocean long enough he would appear, though Kidd wasn't sure if he wanted to meet Calamity's brother. She said the man was beyond the word crazy and even passed the word insane, giving him a whole new category to be under. He was classified as a bipolar creature in her eyes and, Kidd quotes what she said:

"_One minute he acts like you're best friends even though you only met a nanosecond before, but say one wrong word then he wants to either punt you like a pig skin across a football field or rip out your bones from the inside out._"

Kidd would admit he was a little messed up in the head since he enjoyed killing everything and he found the stench of heavy blood a turn on, but this was a guy, Calamity's older brother, Kidd didn't want to hang with; he already had a bipolar girlfriend who could have massive mood swings that go from kind to violent in only a matter of seconds.

_Zap_; lightning hit Kidd square in the forehead, making all thoughts spark out as one little word starting to glow like a neon light in his brain.

Did he just call Gabriella his _girlfriend_?

"It does not feel right, Captain Eustass," the voice of the magical being in front of him cut through his current question like a sharp butter knife slicing steel, and that led to a new question.

Did Calamity have mind reading powers? If she did then she needed to stop in her tracks because it was something that he did not want on his ship, but just to make sure… "What do you mean by that?" he questioned, because asking to see if it was true or not was always a good idea before he jumped the gun on a woman who was considered a fucking goddess to the people of her homeland.

Calamity slowly twisted her torso to come face to face with him, her half a devil's face mask gleaming in the moonlight, giving it an eerie glow, and he kinda felt the shimmering green eyes were boring right into the pits of his soul, which was creepy.

_Very_ creepy.

"There is something on the wind," she answered, making Kidd sigh inwardly with relief that it wasn't what he thought it was, but then his curiosity picked up at the next thing she said. "It feels ominous."

A hairless brow stared to rise in interest. "Is it your brother?" the guy sounded messed up, and would probably make anyone feel like something bad was coming to them on the wind.

"No," she replied grimly, her long back hair swaying in the wind as she shook her head. "It's not him."

Kidd felt her blunt and short answers were starting to get a tad bit annoying because she still wouldn't get to the point of things. "Then what is it?"

"I do not know that is why it's an ominous feeling, Captain Eustass."

Kidd scowled; well, that explains a lot.

* * *

><p>Hebe stood stiffly, her shoulders hunched over as if trying to treat her skin like a protective shield that would deflect the stern dark eyes boring into her very soul from the shadows; she truly hated and feared moments like these.<p>

"_You have failed me again_," the voice of her master's was smooth, but there was an eerie coldness that made her shutter, every hair on the back of her neck standing up on end as he spoke to her.

"But, I was able to get other diamonds to—"

_"I need that blue diamond, Hebe,_" her master cut her off sharply, making her cringe as his tone pierce her eardrums along with ther sound of shifting cushions and the rustling of fabric. "_That is one out of the three largest diamonds in the world, Hebe, you know this,_" his voice got closer, soft patted footsteps made her body turn to stone as her master's figure emerged from the darkness.

The white cloak hung snuggly over his lean, muscular frame, the open flaps showcasing the well built abs that ran across his tanned stomach, rippling as he moved closer towards her, the shadow cast from his hood doing nothing to hide the dark scowl knotting his brows, warping his handsome face into something deadly, and she averted her eyes to the top of her feet.

"But—" she started to say, but was cut off as a firm hand latched onto her chin, fingers gently pressing against her cheeks, forcing her to look at him directly in the eye.

"_Buts are not acceptable, Hebe,_" her master stated bluntly, his point coming across clear even through his thick accent. "_We need those diamonds: you, Vulcan and I. If we want to achieve out goals, we need to get out hands on all three of Trolley's treasures._"

"I know—"

"_Do you know, Hebe,_" her master cut her off again sharply, his fingers digging into the skin of her cheeks, causing a yelp of pain in response. "_Do you know,_" he repeated. "_Without those diamonds we cannot make a strong enough magical force to break the barrier to the hidden realm, without that power our plans are nothing but a figment of out imaginations that will be lost if we cannot do anything, and all the years I searched to find the realm she is in will be for naught, and the countless lives of both humans and creatures will have been a waste because **you** failed in your mission to retrieve a simple blue diamond._" His voice grew colder as he continued to speak to her, the thin nails of his fingers cutting into her skin.

"I—I know, Master!" she said quickly as he voice stared to rise in pitch, trying to get a word in to defend herself. "It wasn't my fault I couldn't get it in time, I tried to, but Caden's Heir got in the way again!"

"_Tch_," her master scoffed, shoving her face away in irritation. "_Calamity is getting in my way again,_" he scowled, turning away from Hebe as she nursed the claw marks blooming along her cheeks. "_She may not be trying to since she is on her own mission to bring down Copy Cat once and for all, but I have my own mission and she of all people should know what it is that I must do, but now she is becoming an issue, her and her students._" He sighed deeply, crossing his arms over his chest while closing his eyes. "_I will have to take care of them so that they don't interfere anymore._" He declared, reopening his eyes and turned back to Hebe once more.

Hebe froze at the look on his face, watching his gaze become fixated on her, those dark eyes just staring at her, like he could see right through her, telling her through the mind that she needed to pay attention. "Yes…?" she asked timidly.

"_I will give you my strongest enchantments, and I want you to place it on the next marine island they land on, cause chaos that will end them once and for all._" Her master ordered.

Hebe rubbed her palms against the fabric at her thighs. "Why a marine island…?"

Her master rolled his eyes in annoyance. "_Because I do not need the council coming after me because they saw something was amiss on a random island, if it's a marine's island, then the council will ignore it as something magical, thinking that the marines were doing something insane to achieve power. And if for some reason they do not die, then the council will pick up on Caden's Heir because she will be all over the news, thus the council will keep Calamity and her students out of my hair._"

"Oh…I understand…"

"_Good,_" her master scoffed, and he waved his hand towards the exit that was bathed in light from the open doorway. "_Now, go I will send the items to you before you leave._"

Hebe bowed deeply. "Yes, Master Jarfar," she said quickly, then just as fast, stood back up straight and rushed out of the room.

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><p>And we learn the name of Hebe and Vulcan's master. Now, you might be wondering, where is Vulcan? Well, that's a surprise~ :D<p> 


	28. Chapter 27: Virusless sickness

Tigereye13: Many questions you ask, young one, answers you seek answered will be later. Okay, not more Starwars talk (kinda a failed Starwars talk), but yeah. A lot of questions that will be answered later on. :)

Trafalgar Riley: Crazy Sane likes the nick names, and he has asked if he can call you _Madame Riles of the Holy Land under the sea_. Yes, it's weird, but true.

Alpenwolf: Your little special will be at the bottom after the chapter, so stay tuned. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 27: Virus-less Sickness<p>

Gabriella cuddled on the _never-sat-on_ couch in Kidd's quarters, relaxing quietly as the side of her head rested against the short and plush leather armrest. A shudder ran down her spine, and she pulled the maroon, fuzzy coat over her bare shoulders more, avoiding the bronze spikes around the collar. Despite the small, permanent smell of iron lingering around the fur, Kidd's coat made an excellent blanket, and he didn't seem to mind her using it as one when they were in his room. Apparently, the pirate captain preferred to have it off when he was lounging around his room either taking a quick nap or working on something for Chamberlain, his tall navigator.

Chamberlain was a quiet man, it was hard to believe that he was apart of the Kidd Pirates at all. He didn't have a thirst for blood like the other men nor did he get enjoyment of killing everything no matter what; he was just the type who followed orders with no questions. He was rather emotionless in a sense, but still it made the summoner mage wonder about why Kidd chose him to be the navigator for his crew, and when questioned about it, Kidd told her it was because he grew up on the same little island in the South Blue with him as well as Killer.

That was about the time that Gabriella got a little curious of Kidd's past before he was a pirate, and these thoughts were what calmed her down about the whole... _incident_ when Calamity came and the magical being told Kidd about her Ohdan. But anyway, Gabriella had tried to talk about it with her captain a few times, but Kidd would brush it aside as nothing, saying things like it was just a tropical fishermen's island: nothing more, nothing less. Of course, she tried to probe more out of him, but then that would make Kidd a little on the miffed side, and he would snap at her that if she wanted to know more about his childhood then she would have to cough up her side of the story, too.

That shut her up pretty quick, because she really didn't like sharing much about her younger years just to tell someone, even if it would get her a bit of details on Kidd. So, she just dropped it and so did Kidd.

Though, she may have stopped talking about, that didn't mean she didn't stop wondering, Kidd couldn't stop her from doing that.

Craning her head back, she looked at the figure of Kidd next to the couch, his image side ways, showing his pale shoulder blade shuttering as the scratching of a pen worked its way into her ears. "What are you working on?" she questioned, feeling bored of the silence.

The scratching stopped, and Kidd looked over his bare shoulders at her then shrugged, closing his eyes for a split second before reopening them as he spoke. "Just some things for Chamberlain; adding more notes to his about which island we might go to next," he answered, going back to writing.

"Do you know about the island?" she continued to questioned, shifting her weight and pressing her hands against the armrest to arch her back upward to get a peek at what he was writing, looking over his shoulder, and staining her neck to see passed all the muscles.

"You'll fall if you do that," he bluntly said, never turning around.

She rolled her eyes. "I did that _one_ time, and now you never stop bringing it up."

"Because it was fucking hilarious," Kidd chuckled, looking over his shoulder to send her an amused smirk.

Gabriella glared. "Fine," she scoffed, pushing back to rest on her heels and then twisted her body so she could slide off the couch, shivering at the cold air touching her uncovered skin at the hems of her clothing, but she ignored it and walked over to Kidd. Her toes curled slightly at the freezing wood under foot but then she felt the warmth radiating off Kidd as she snuggled up on his lap, the exposed skin of her back that her shirt didn't cover lit up with heat from his bare chest. "Better?" she asked, her eyes glancing down at sea charts with neat writing from both Chamberlain and Kidd. She didn't think Kidd had such nice hand writing; she figured Chamberlain, but not Kidd.

"Much," Kidd simply said through a deep chuckle, an arm wrapping around her stomach to pull her closer to his muscular frame.

She ignored the hot breath on her neck, and continued to look at the maps, because that is what she wanted to do in the first place; to see what the maps had on them.

From what she read, there were three different ideas for the next island they could go to:

Number one: according to Chamberlain's notes, it was a jungle island, making the summoner mage grimace.

Oh, how she hated hot places, a jungle being one of them, and also because the last jungle they went to she got extremely sick to the point where she could have _died_. Then, there was that stupid old whore mage that was a pain in everyone's ass with her stupid demons and enchanter's circles. Where did Hebe get enchanters magic items that strong, anyway?

Gabriella shook the question from her mind, focusing on the islands and she looked over the second chart.

Number two: Chamberlain guessed it was a tundra island.

Gabriella tossed the paper to the side in distaste: last snow covered island Kidd killed all the bears, enough said.

And lastly, number three: Chamberlain said it was a metal island that used to be a marine base, but due to the war with Whitebeard it was relocated and was made into an industry island, making weapons and other war devices used to kill the enemies, but also the innocent.

"I'm guessing this is the one you want to go to," she stated, waving the map in her hand.

"Mmm-hmm," was his response.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, shaking her shoulders. "Stop making out with my neck, god damnit."

Kidd grunted in annoyance, his lips leaving her skin because of all the unneeded movement. "Sit on my lap, and it's gonna happen."

She rolled her eyes again, twisting in his grip so she was straddling his hips and looking at him squarely, face to face. "Wouldn't you rather make out with _something_ else?"

A sly smirk crossed Kidd's lips. "And what would that be…?" he said slowly, his hand resting gently on her breast, and the word _gently_ should be stressed, or else Kidd would be bedridden with a sore _you-know-what's-it_ again.

"Higher," she said simply.

A small frown crossed Kidd's expression, guess what they had in mind was different, but his hand moved upwards, leaving the fabric covering her chest to the bare skin on her neck, his fingers grazing over the red mark blooming there.

"Higher," she rolled her eyes, obviously it wasn't her neck; he was just being so god damn stubborn.

Stupid stubborn-captain-ness of Kidd.

Kidd rolled his eyes, his hand moving up more until his finger pads pressed against her lips.

A smile crossed her lips. "Bingo…" she mumbled softly against his fingers, but then his hand moved again cradling her chin and she closed her eyes, feeling his breathe against her skin.

"Captain," the monotone voice of Chamberlain came to the door.

The tall lanky man opened the door, a blank expression written out on his features, even after catching his captain in such a moment with the summoner mage, forcing a second for everyone to blink at one another.

Kidd blinked at Chamberlain with Gabriella.

Chamberlain remained still, then blinked slowly back at them.

Kidd glanced at Gabriella then blinked, and Gabriella blinked back.

Then two looked back at the navigator, blinking again.

"Are we there…?" Kidd finally asked, shifting slightly at the awkward situation he was caught in and the silence that dragged out because of it.

"No," Chamberlain said shortly.

"Then what is it?" Kidd snapped, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Doc told me to get Gabriella and you," the navigator continued, glancing towards the summoner mage. "Something is wrong with Calamity."

No sooner did the words leave the tall man's mouth was the summoner mage pushing him away from the doorway, racing down to the infirmary quickly until she was skidding to a halt in front of the open door leading into the room. "What's wrong with her?" she questioned out of breathe, her eyes falling onto her teacher laying on a cot in pain, clutching her side with a hand as Bedros held the other tightly.

"Doc doesn't know," Madeline answered with a worried frown. "She hasn't said a word since…_this_ happened." She waved a hand towards their teacher.

"I would be able to know what's wrong if I could get a better look at her face without the mask," Doc said lazily through the cigarette hanging between his teeth, rolling over in his wheely chair, the white medical lab fluttering back in a trail with the smoke. "I didn't know if it had some freaky-witchy purpose, so I waited until you both were here," he swayed a finger between her and her peer.

"Its fine," Gabriella stated quickly. "The mask is only an accessory."

"Ah," Doc muttered, using his middle finger to push the glasses up on the bridge of his nose, a small glare glancing of the transparent surface. "I see," he said shortly, rolling over in his chair to Calamity's cot-side. "If you don't mind," he curtly told the magical being that did not answer him, his hand hovering over her mask and his fingers touched the metal, slowly pulling it off to reveal the young face of Calamity.

Golden eyes were squinted, barely staying open, trying to stay awake as heavy breathes came from her parted lips that showcased her rarely seen sharp teeth. Sweat dripped down her paler then normal skin, making her long black locks stick to her cheeks and neck, causing them to be damp with a slick shine to the dark colored hair, and small twitches would spark at her brows as her body flinched with pain, traveling from head to toe, but then her body would returned to shuttering, making her large breasts rise and fall with each and every deep breathe.

Doc went straight to work on examining the magical being's condition, going through the doctor's proceeds: looking at the dilation of her eyes, watching if the reptilian-like pupil would thin when light was shone on it and then other things that ranged from probing her pale skin, to see if there were any bug bites that would cause her to go into a state of shock and looking down her throat to see if there was inflation to the inner, moist skin.

"Well," Doc spoke up after his inspection, wheeling over to his desk as he took the cigarette from his mouth and tapped it lightly, letting the ash drip into a tare like mucky water. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her from looking at her physically, other than its plainly obvious her body is boiling, but there is no fever to explain the heat. I need to do more of an examination to see if it's a virus or bacteria, or maybe something else entirely."

"So," Madeline drew out slowly. "What _is_ wrong with her?"

Doc looked at her like she was stupid, the frame of his glasses sleeping down his nose. "I just said there is nothing wrong with her that I could see. Don't you listen?"

"She never does," Killer bluntly stated, making Gabriella jump slightly at the sudden voice she didn't know was there, and she turned around to look at the masked blonde...err red head actually since Killer still had the red dye in his locks, but when she looked over her shoulder, all she saw was a bare chest that was framed by a fuzzy coat.

She blinked: when did Kidd get here?

"I do too listen!" Madeline defended, placing her hands onto her hips. "I was just asking if there was something!"

"Doc just said that he didn't know," Killer scoffed.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure!" Madeline snapped.

"_Oh god_," Doc pushed back the blonde bangs hanging over his forehead so he could rub the skin in frustration. "Take this outside my infirmary, _please_."

The doctor was ignored, and Killer snapped back: "Just shut up, you bitch. You're voice is more annoying then claws on a chalkboard."

A scoff of utter offense sputtered passed the thin summoner mage's lips. "_Take that back!_"

"Never," Killer bluntly declared.

"Silence…"

"Mother!" Bedros spoke up, a relieved note in his voice as he smiled down at the finally speaking magical being, his hand gripping hers tightly when Calamity started to move.

"Captain Eustass…" Calamity mumbled, looking towards the red head.

"Yeah?" a hairless brow rose as Kidd looked down at her curiously.

"Head north-east," Calamity ordered, her breath going heavy. "I sense something there, something—" the end of the sentence was left unsaid as the energy from then magical being disappeared, and she flopped against the thin cushion of the cot unconscious.

"Mother!" the relief in the stone devil's voice vanished and was replaced with concern, worried over his mother.

Kidd blinked, his arms wrapping around Gabriella's to pull her close and said: "The blunt answers with no explanation are still annoying."

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><p>For those U.S. History freaks like me, Chamberlain is named after Joshua Chamberlain the Union Officer that reached the rank of Brigadier General during the Civil War. ...I went to Gettysburg Saturday, okay...<p>

Alpenwolf: all your questions will be answered soon, and yes, Jarfar is the evil villain from Aladdin. Now, the special (hope you like it):

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><p>Sane lounged in the silence of the library, his feet propped up on a table top, his ankles drilling holes in the librarian's precious books while he leaned back on his chair's hind legs, the feet of the seat creaking as he swayed lightly back and forth. A smirk was plastered on his lips as he dozed off slowly, his mind filling with the greatest thing in the world: bones.<p>

The touch, how smooth they were along his fingers; the smell, how the scent of iron lingered around the off white color; the sound, how it sounded when he took his rival in school's air and twisted it, just to hear that beautiful _snap_; the sight, how the color of dirty white dominated the stunning item, making it glow in the moonlight; and the taste, yes, the taste was so...

..._**BAM!**_

"_Wake up, you weirdo!_" a shrill voice screeched, waking Sane from his slumber, making him almost fall backwards, but luckily he caught himself, his feet leaving the table to propel him into a stable position with all four leg's of the chair on the floor. Once his body was safe, he glared at the blonde fiend darkly, eyeing her revealing school uniform in disgust. "We need to get this project done!" she continued to scream at him, slamming a hand on the books she dropped onto the table's surface.

Sane rolled his golden eyes, but then a smirk crossed his lips and he reached into his backpack, pulling out a water bottle. "Drink?" he offered innocently.

Rose scoffed in irritation. "If it makes you work, then whatever," and she snatched up the bottle, uncapping it and taking a small elegant sip, but then spit it out in an ungraceful manor. "**_UGH, what is this_,**" she started to say, but then stopped, her eyes opened wide. "_**W-why does my voice sound like-like a guy's!**_"

Sane just laughed, pointing a finger with red painted nail at the blonde fiend as she run out of the room screaming and crying like a man.

_The End. (P.S. minor spoilers were actually in this.)_


	29. Chapter 28: Found it!

Animelover007: Happy belated Birthday! Hope it was a good one, and I'm glad that my update made it better. :)

Tigereyes13: Yeah, Kidd is just a really messed up person, in so many ways. And Calamity's 'illness' will be explained, just got to wait and see! :)

Aplenwolf: Questions to the illness will be answered soon, and I'm glad you liked your little special. Oh, and yes, Sane does eat bones, and he is a weirdo, but he's mine weirdo. ;)

So, anyway, I would like to give everyone a little heads up about this chapter. The new setting in a German island, yes that's right. While eating my kinder egg I decided to do that to give the place more of an interesting look, you know? Though, I don't speak it well, _at all_. So, I had to use a translator for some things, and we all know how _that_ works out. So, I tried to just stick with sinlge words rather than phrases and sentences, you know? Though there is some stuff that is more than a word.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 28: Found it!<p>

Kanonier Island: that was where Calamity was pointing them to with her weird magical sensing of things on the wind and Kidd was actually thrilled since it was one of the islands that the log post was pointing to.

Why?

Because it was the former marine base that still made some of the best weapons in the world, and without the marines being the annoying pain in the asses like they always were, he could actually take a really in depth look at what stores he wanted to steal from; he wanted to replace his pistol since it was getting kinda old. Though there was a small problem with his ultimate plan of theft for the island and that was everything was in German.

Kidd just blinked at the tall sign right at the large port of the island, big white letters that spelled out _Stadtbezirk_, or something, and then other words listed under it in smaller print with arrows next to each one, pointing the people in the right direction. But Kidd had not idea where he was supposed to actually go.

So clearly, Kidd could _not_ read German, or any foreign language as a matter of fact, for the life of him; he really didn't pay attention that much about it in school of obvious reasons; more concerned over being King of the Pirates and all.

Luckily though, Killer did have an excellent grasp on other languages, especially German since the man had a bit of it in his blood, more like a lot, but anyway, his first-mate was also actually fluent in many different languages: like Spanish, Italian, Russian, and other ones, too, like French, how else do you think they got Jacques the French bomber to join the crew; the only one that could really understand him was Killer.

So Killer, briefly explaining to Kidd, that the island was separated into different _Stadtbezirke_, which were boroughs, and each of the boroughs were named after the main thing that was either made there or sold there, like the borough that had all the iron factories in it was called _Eisen_.

That was simple enough for even someone like Kidd to comprehend, but he still couldn't read the damn words no matter how much Killer explained it, plus he couldn't even say the words for the life of him. Killer, being fluent, said the words in perfect German, and Kidd swore it sounded like his first-mate was choking on a potato. So, he told his first-mate get the point, and to, well, point him in the direction of the guns.

Killer sighed, jabbing a finger to the sign, pointing to the third one down that had the words _Waffen_, which Killer explained meant weapons.

That didn't help Kidd at all; he just wanted to look at the guns first, so now he had to figure out where the all the guns would be out of a whole weapons borough.

As Killer tried irritably to explain to Kidd that they had to actually go into the city, then to the borough with all the weapon stores to see where the guns were sold, they seemed to miss out on the rather kinky conversation that was literally being said right behind Kidd's back, since that's what Gabriella was leaning against, treating it like a wall.

Though, she was leaning further and further into it, shifting awkwardly back and forth on her feet, clutching her spear to her chest like a shield as Bedros and Madeline stared at her squarely, examining the black bruise on her neck like it was some sort of new rare disease.

"Kidd hickey," Bedros said, setting the diagnoses.

"Kidd hickey," Madeline agreed.

Gabriella sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes at the give nick-name to the, well, bites on her neck that the pirate captain gave her on a daily basis, either for punishment or fun. Though, they both felt like torture to her when his teeth would sink in a little too deep, actually drawing blood, and every time, too. Kidd must have some weird vampire fetish or something since he actually _liked_ to drink her blood. And he called _her_ weird? Well, he shouldn't be talking.

"So," Bedros drew out devilishly, a mischievous glint forming in his red eyes. "What you do this time, eh?"

Gabriella, placed a hand to her chin in thought, thinking back to just that morning when she got the lovely black blemish on the skin of her neck. "Nothing," she answered. "I think?"

"You think?" Madeline inquired curiously, a single brow rising on her pretty little forehead.

"So, he just kinda threw you up against something and bit the living daylight out of you?" Bedros guessed.

"Kinda," Gabriella shrugged, leaving it at that, though there was more.

She had gone into his room to get her spear, since Kidd deemed it a hazardous weapon again because it actually sliced a small cut on his cheek one time and he stuffed it in the corner of his quarters. She figured she should get back into the habit of carrying it around again, so she went to get it and while picking up her weapon before she left to go up onto deck with the rest of the crew as they got closer to port, she noticed some interesting books in the bookcases. There were a few on the shelves, and she couldn't help but look over the titles that were perched above Kidd's desk, finding it strange to see that they were on the stars and constellations; a rather detailed collection of astronomy. And then all of a sudden she was whirled around, her shoulder blades slamming down on his desk so that her back was arched awkwardly and, that's when Kidd leaned over, biting the living daylights out of her neck, but Bedros didn't needed to know all the details.

"So, there's more, huh?" Bedros looked at her greedily, wanting to know all the juicy stuff to use as taunting material; of course.

Gabriella scoffed, and she was about to retort back, but her voice was replaced by a much deeper one.

"Knock it off," the surprising voice of Kidd came from behind them, making the three startled because obviously the red head wasn't that oblivious to the conversation.

Bedros, who had been threatened by Kidd with multiple life or death situations, ran quickly to the safety of Killer, quivering behind the lean frame of the masked blonde, err, actually he was still a red head at the moment, but the dye was now fading a bit.

Madeline, in her messed up world, found the scene to be _omg-that-looks-so-sexy_ and all the things that would never happen between the two males, flashed through her mind. Then, the thin summoner mage fainted with a gushing, bloody nose bleed.

The stone devil and masked blonde, err, red head, just stared down at the bleeding mage in confusion.

Kidd scoffed in disgust. "Doc," he called out the implied order.

Doc, who was taking a quick smoke break at the back of the group before he went back to take care of the sick magical being, bit down on the butt of his cigarette with an irritated grumble, stalking to the front and pushing passed other crew members along the way and then he grabbed up the ankle of the thin summoner mage, dragging her away in annoyance because his smoke break was shortened. Though, he would probably just smoke in the infirmary, anyway, just like he always did.

"Now that is out of the way," Kidd said slowly. "We can go to, um…" he trailed off at a lost of words.

"_Waffen_," Killer finished for him.

"Um yeah, that place," Kidd nodded, still thinking that there was a potato stuck in his first-mate's throat, but he ignored it, hooking an arm around Gabriella's waist. "So let's head out," he ordered to his crew, and the men all started to follow after Chamberlain as the tall navigator led the way to _Waffen_.

Then all of a sudden, Gabriella slipped away from his grip, making Kidd look down at her in confusion as she pointed to a rather tall being on the other side of the island, _away_ from where he wanted to go. "I need to go there to check for the gem," she elaborated.

Kidd threw back his head with a groan, obviously annoyed with the statement. "Can't you do that later, or make Madeline do it?"

"I can't just do it later, and Madeline is right now in a coma," Gabriella answered, crossing her arms over her chest, her spear resting in the crook of her elbow. "I just need to walk over there climb the building and check, nothing big."

"That will probably take hours though," Kidd retorted. "And I want to go to that...whatever place."

"_Waffen_," Killer corrected.

"_Whatever_," Kidd rolled his eyes.

"I can go by myself, you know." Gabriella suggested innocently.

Kidd stared at her as if she was crazy, like what she said was something too ridiculous that it was insane.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "When I'm done, I'll come find you at _Waffen_, okay?"

"She can say it," Killer commented, obviously insulting the pirate captain.

Kidd shot his first-mate a deadly scowl. "Shut up you fucking pansy."

Killer scoffed at the nick-name, but shut his mouth all the same.

Kidd then turned back to Gabriella and said: "Don't be late."

"Promise," Gabriella smiled, shifted her hood atop her head and turned on her heel, dashing off to the highest point on the island.

* * *

><p>Gabriella walked through the crowded streets of Kanonier Island, finding the outside conversations of German to actually be rather soothing for her pointed ears. Though, she couldn't understand the words being spoken around her, it gave her an odd sense of déjà vu, reminding her of her mother's thick accent. Her mother was far from being German, but the tone in the thick sounding voices were extremely close to what her mother had, triggering the small memory of her sweet, little old mama. So, it was soothing all the same, calming her nerves about what could be going on with Calamity, but only a little bit.<p>

Her palms were getting slightly sweaty with nervousness at the thought, and she had to stop every now and then, leaning her spear carefully against her shoulder so she could rub her damp hands on the fabric of her cloak. It was a rather tedious routine, always stopping because of that. True, she could have just placed her spear in its proper holder, sliding it into the chain on her back, but when that spear was on her back, well, she didn't know where the blade might go, and she was sort of short compared to some of the taller men around her. And since she was a member of one of the most feared, and well known, supernova's crew, she had to keep her existence on an extreme down low.

If the council found out she was apart of a pirate crew after One Piece and the title that comes with it, all hell would break loose. They would think that she was going to try and take over _Regnum carcere_ to avenge her ohdan, then maybe the world next. She could care less about trying to rule shit, and if it was anything, it wouldn't be _Regnum carcere,_ that's for sure. All she wanted was to clear her ohdan's name.

Shaking her head from her current thoughts, focusing on her goal at hand, she grabbed up her spear firmly in her hand and started heading towards the tallest building on the island: the marine watch tower.

Though the marine base was moved and relocated after the war, the buildings still stood on the island; the thick navy blotched walls that wrapped around the perimeter for protection, shielding the smaller, unseen buildings on the other side, and of course the tall lookout tower that was her targeted destination. Though she was slightly surprised at what the city did with the inactive marine base.

The large, iron gates were wide open for the public, revealing lush gardens of trees and bushes, budding flowers of the rainbow blooming in small patches of sunlight. It seemed like the city didn't want the abandoned base to be a big eye sore to the island, so they converted it into a park.

She wondered how the marines felt about that, but that was a question she needed to push aside and focus back on her mission.

It made her a bit wary of walking through the park, it may not have been crowded like the city streets were, but there were still people that could see her.

She never thought that the city would make the former base into a park; she thought that they would have left it alone, letting it stay vacant until the marines needed it again once more. So, that meant she couldn't just go out there and use her magic to get to the top of the lookout tower like she wanted to. She may not have liked to use her magic in public for obvious reason dealing with the council and all that jazz, but she would admit she kinda wanted to get the search over and done with quickly so she could get back to Kidd. Though, she wasn't all too excited to get back to his form of a violent kiss. That was something she could lollygag about.

But now it didn't matter if she wanted to waste time or not because she _had_ to climb the million step tower for fear she might expose herself, drawing attention of both the marines and council alike; she was already _not_ supposed to have left the island, even if she did have Calamity's okay about it.

Walking slowly around the tower's base, she examined it closely while avoiding the children running around in their endless games of tag. She saw that the windows and doors were all boarded up, blocking trespassers from breaking and entering. The building had probably been boarded up for a year, close to two, and if a bunch of reckless, high, drunk teenagers hadn't broken in yet, that meant security was still strict, tightly held on the abandoned base, even if it wasn't active.

Gabriella stopped circling around the tower, placing a hand to her chin as she leaned against her spear for support.

Maybe she could just pick the padlock on the main door, but then someone would definitely see that it was open, or worse, see her actually picking the lock, and that would just cause a whole lot of drama she did not want to deal with. Though, she still wondered why the marines kept such a hold on the inactive base; maybe there was still something there, hidden within the stone walls to be whipped out for war on another day, but that was something she wouldn't worry about. She really didn't care about the marines and their wars, but, she could always tell Kidd about it; he would like that information, if it was good for what its worth, that is.

So, she brushed it aside for another time, continuing to rub her chin while thinking over her options of how to get into the tower, and she found her gaze was slowly rising to look at the windows on higher levels.

_Bingo_ went the little light blub in her head; the windows higher up weren't boarded up with anything.

She could climb the walls of the tower, thanks to her training with Calamity she was rather skilled at that, and there were even big enough cracks between the stone for her fingers to cling onto. Though, she was wary of the fact that people could see her doing this; it's an odd sight to see anyone scaling a building, but it was suspicious when it was a military owned one.

But it was the best plan she had at the moment, so she followed through with it, placing her spear in its holder on her back and then she scanned the grounds around the tower once more before she took action.

She spotted a pair of children running around the trees nearby, most likely siblings since they both had the small wild brown, curly locks on their heads, making it look like they were wearing mops for hats. They were playing tag, and it seemed the younger of the two was it, and he chased after his older sister, but then stumbled on an exposed tree root, making him tumble to the ground. The older sister stopped in her tracks, rushing back to help her crying little brother from the ground, placing him on her back and walked away, probably going back to their home for a well deserved treat from the long day playing, and getting hurt, in the park.

Gabriella couldn't help but smile gently at the scene; it made her wonder how her rascal of a little brother was doing, and if he was staying out of trouble like he promised her before she left.

She shook her head, tossing aside the constant distractions that were getting in the way of what she needed to get done, and once the coast was clear, she strolled up to the tower's walls, placing her fingers in the cracks between the cement stone bricks and started to scale to the un-boarded windows on the sixth floor that was going to be her ticket in.

She felt a bit lucky since that floor was above the tree line, and she hoped that the leaves would give her a bit of cover from pedestrians below, if any came by that is. So far, no one came for a little afternoon stroll, making her climb so much easier, and when she reached the window, seeing clearly inside, she glanced over her shoulder just to make sure no one was there watching her.

Check; coast was clear, for now.

Balancing her weight between the top of the stone frame under her feet and her forearm keeping her in place on the sill, she pressed a palm firmly to the glass pane, feeling the cool surface under her skin, and she pushed.

It was locked tight.

She knew it was too easy, and something just had to ruin it.

Her fingers started to drum quickly against the rough stone of the sill, trying to get her mind to think of something quick because someone might just come around the corner. She couldn't break the window since she was trying to stay on the down low, and even if the window was high up, someone could see it if they looked for it, or worse, someone would hear it _and then_ see her do it.

Not something good.

Inspecting the old glass window, she saw that the lock in the middle of the latch was big enough for a dagger to fit into, which made another _bingo_ ding inside her mind.

So, she used her free hand to grab onto the latched, pulling it slightly to see if it would be able to hold some of her weight, and it groaned, telling her not even to try. Looking up, she saw that the outcropped stone around the window wasn't that high and if she was lucky, she could reach it with a jump, so she did.

And god, her fingers almost slipped and she almost became a pancake for the grass below. Well, she probably would have caught herself a bit, so maybe just a broken leg, or two.

Making sure her hands had a tight grip on the stone, she balance her weight evenly, giving her a bit of breathing room as she lifted her foot from the sill, the little dagger hidden in the heel of her boot snaking out and she started to pick the lock carefully, wiggling the blade back and forth to try and get that _click_ to ring in her ears.

"_Guten Tag!_" a thick German speaking voice called out from below and the summoner mage froze, feeling her body go cold as she thought she had just been caught.

"_Hallo! Wie geht es dir?_" a new voice answered, and she slowly relaxed, realizing that maybe she hadn't been spotted yet, and she went back to quickly picking the lock.

"_Gut und dir?_"

_Tick, tick, tick…_

"_Nicht so gut, ich habe leider meinen Job verloren._"

_Tick, tick, tick…_

"_Was! Hast du wirklich?_"

_Tick, tick—_

_Click._

The lock came undone, and she slowly pushed the window open, and god she just wanted to kick it open and get into the safety of cover, but she was slow, making no unnecessary movements. The window creaked opened as the rusted hinges rubbed together, and she feared that the two people, which she figured were men since they both had deep voices, below heard, but there was no change in the casual chatting they were doing, and she scurried into the open window quickly then shut it behind her with a small _click_.

She sighed deeply, her shoulders dropping then rising again. That was a close one that was done and over with, and judging by how the men were speaking, they didn't notice her. She hoped so, at least.

Now that she was out of view of being seen, she started upward, slowly climbing the stone steps of the tower and passing each window that would show the city below in a smaller image until it looked only like a small child's plaything.

It was night when she reached the top, and she was pretty sure that Kidd was going to be pissed with her about being late. Though, he never set a time for when she needed to get back, probably so that he could chew her out then bite her for a reason.

The jerk.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes at the thought as she pulled out the crystal, but she didn't feel it in her pockets, and she sighed. "Musket," she simply said.

The familiar popped out from the folds of her cloak with a bashful look on his green, scaly face. "I didn't want you to lose it, Master." He said childishly, handing the crystal to her.

Gabriella sighed again, taking the chord with the clear gem attached to and patted her familiar gently on the head; it was the thought that counted. Then she turned away from the flying goblin, stretching out an arm to hold the crystal up against the wind, letting it sway back and forth, but then suddely it stopped, flashing a deep crimson red, and it only did that for one thing.

Gabriella's jaw dropped: the gem was here.

* * *

><p>O:<p>

So, anyway, I hope that the German conversation was actuate; I'm a bit rusty, so I tried to keep it simple.

And isn't Killer such a smart cookie?


	30. Chapter 29: Research

Popped this chapter out all in a day since my sleep schedule was screwed up because I went to New York City before dawn Friday morning. It was a blast though, but got really sleepy while in the Met...

So anyway. This chapter has guns for all you fellas that read this romance/adventure story, and there's violence. :D But, as a female, my gun knowledge sucks, but I have a bit of information because of my little Drake story. So, yeah, I used stuff from that to help me here, and if I get stuff wrong feel free to tell me: _no, you're wrong it should be like this_, it's not like I bite. That's Kidd's job. :D

Tigereye13: Kidd and his vampire fetish. Well, I don't know if that is what you call someone who likes to drink blood. I really didn't do research on the subject. And Law does seem more vampire-ish, and Kidd a brutish werewolf. Lovely idea for Halloween, eh? Gabriella and Ameria as witches, or Gabriella as a devil and Ameria as ghost? Charlie Brown comes to mind when I think of that...but off topic now.

Alpewolf: Just noticed you are from Germany... But, anyway. Thanks for all the corrections. :D I used a translator and some things may not have translated well, obviously because computers really aren't that smart.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 29: Research<p>

Kidd was impressed.

He was expecting the gun stores to be good, but not_ this_ good. Killer said it had to be obvious because the island was named after gunners, so there was bound to be excellent guns.

And excellent guns they had.

The majority of the guns in the store were flintlocks, ranging from pistols, muskets, rifles, multi shots that went from multiple barrels to single barrel. So Kidd had a lot to choose from, but his eye was getting drawn to the multiple barrel one the most, more of an accurate name: the pepperbox revolver.

The name may have sounded a bit ridiculous, but it was a dangerous multi shot weapon. The firearm could shoot multiple projectiles simultaneously by multiple barrels. Which in Kidd's mind meant that more bullet holes in his enemies, and that meant they would die faster and he wouldn't have to worry about pests coming back to bite him in the ass sometime in the future.

He took the revolver from off its hanger and he heard the clerk behind him shout something in German angrily, and just one threatening look over his shoulder shut up the man instantly, making him sink down behind his counter out of direct sight of Kidd's deadly gaze.

Kidd scoffed then turned his attention back to the flintlock in his hand. It was light, thanks to its small size. It was also smaller then the pistol strapped to his chest, but it packed a deadlier punch than his current gun.

So over all, it was an excellent weapon to steal.

Smirking to himself with a small grunting chuckle, Kidd turned on his heel to the door, but then his eyes locked onto a simmering gold light perpendicular to the floor. He blinked at it, watching it spread apart like a curtain to a window then out popped his summoner mage. It was surprising to see Gabriella go out and use her magic since she didn't like to use it, like_ ever_, so something had to be up, bringing Kidd up into high alert that shit was about to go down. Good thing he got a new gun, now he could test it out.

But then that alert was soon lost completely as his summoner ran towards him and jumped him, wrapping her legs around his hips and her arms snaked around his neck. He stumbled back in slight shock as Gabriella clung to him, burying her face into the crook of his neck, then the shock was replaced with fury because of jumping him in the middle of a public place, but when he opened his mouth to retort, he closed it with a thoughtful look.

Why was he getting mad at her for wrapping her very nice legs around him, and rubbing him in _all_ the right places?

Kidd came to the conclusion that he liked this.

"_Kidd!_" she said his name out of breathe, and god he thought that was such a turn on. "It's here! _It's here!_" she went on, pulling away from the crook of his neck and grabbing his cheeks in her hands to force him to look her in the eyes.

Kidd would have asked what she meant, but the question was lost as Gabriella crashed her lips onto his in a bruising kiss. His eyes opened wide with surprise; in the weeks that they were considered a _thing_ they never really officially kissed yet. Don't judge, it just never came up, okay?

But he got over the initial shock to realize that she was being the dominate one, using his surprise fully to her advantage, and that was _not_ going to do in Kidd's book.

He murmured a growl against her lips, his free hand that wasn't holding the gun pulled down her hood and then fisted his hand into her ginger hair, jerking her head back to show her that _he_ was the man here.

She gasped at the pain, her neck straining at the sudden, sharp tug, and she looked ready to pull back from him completely, but Kidd wouldn't allow that after he was all worked up now, and he pulled her closer. The gun dropping to the ground with a clatter as his arm wrapped around her back to deepen the moment all the more.

"Ahem."

Kidd growled, ripping away from his summoner mage and looked over his shoulder to see Killer standing there. "What?"

"You're causing a scene," Killer bluntly said.

"Like I care," Kidd retorted, rolling his eyes, but then again…he scanned the room seeing that people indeed were staring at them with wide eyes; it's not ever day a person sees a woman jump out of a multi colored vortex _then_ jumps a feared supernova that could kill her in a split second _and then_ makes out with him in the middle of public. But still, Kidd didn't really care that people stared at him, but it did give him a reason to kill.

So, a devilish grin crossed his red painted lips; looks like he would be testing out his new revolver.

* * *

><p>"<em>Fire in zee hole!<em>" Jacques shouted at the top of his lungs, throwing the barrel gurnard into the air, making the small projectile sail in a long arch through the darkness of night, an orange flickering light like a star against the blackness until it was gone within the shadows of the shrubs and trees.

**CA-BOOM~!**

The bomb went off, a build up of smoke drifting into the starry sky and the flames spreading like the wild fire it was, dancing under the moonlight as it clung to its dance partners of tree leaves.

Kidd strolled through the fires like nothing was there; fire was something he was used to by now, and he scanned the carnage, the crackling orange blaze flaring in his ears while he looked around, and that's when he saw a metal doorway. The vines and underbrush that formerly decorated it were now gone, nothing but fire crumbling to the ground and the door no longer held the metallic luster it probably had, but now had an ashy, misshapen ring with an added dent.

Gabriella had been right.

She said the gem was somewhere under the inactive marine base, and that the magical presence led her to a hidden doorway deep within the forest of the converted park. Kidd had been skeptical about the idea, but here it was: a metal door.

And with just a small twist of his purple, sparking wrist, the door went flying off from its hinges to reveal clear white walls that looked like they belonged in a laboratory.

"Looks like a research facility." Killer commented smoothly, walking up calmly beside him surrounded by the flickering flames.

"It does," Kidd agreed with a nod.

It wasn't the first time the Kidd Pirates had been to a research island. Back in the Paradise side of the Grand Line, the crew had stumbled upon an uncharted research facility under the marines control, and it was a bloody mess, for the marines that is. Kidd and his crew killed every one there, and hulled in quite the pretty penny after that, since it not only had heaps of beli stashed away, but also some nicely made cannons that the marines must have been working on. Well, now those cannons decorated his ship's deck quiet nicely and the over all experience had also earned him a good 15 million beli raise for his bounty. That was the last island before they reached Shabondy, and was also when he got a higher bounty than that idiot Strawhat who was still missing.

Kidd wondered where his moron of a rubber rival was, but that wasn't his concern at the moment, and that was helping his summoner mage get back this gem.

He looked over his shoulder, seeing that Jacques had sauntered up behind him, a smirk on his pale skin at his handy work. "You can go back to the ship now," Kidd ordered. "Tell Blaze and Chamberlain we'll be back soon."

Jacques nodded, a bit of stray brown hair falling over his green eyes, and he did a mock salute. "Aye, Captain," he responded in that thick French accent of his and then turned on the heel of his boot, walking back to the edge of the fiery hell around them where Kidd saw him bow.

Kidd craned his neck over his shoulder more to see that the bomber had bowed gentleman like to the two summoner mages, but he got no reaction from them since Gabriella was supporting Madeline, who was shook to death right out of her coma when Gabriella went to go tell her that the gem was found. "Gabriella," he called to her. "Get your ass over here."

Gabriella looked away from Madeline, who was swaying dangerously back and forth within her firm grip, and glared towards Kidd, her narrow eyes says: _don't-you-dare-order-me-around-like-that._

Kidd scowled back, his narrow eyes saying:_ too-bad-because-I-can-and-did_ and he brought up a hand, the purple magnetism of his devil fruit forcing her to his side, and Madeline too, but the sudden force caused her to go to the ground in a crumbling heap.

Kidd stared at the mumbling mage, and then looked to Killer. "Carry her."

Killer slowly turned his masked head, his covered gaze boring into Kidd's soul. "_Never_," was all the masked blonde, err, still a red head actually, said and stormed into the doorway of the building.

Kidd groaned in frustration and took it upon himself to throw the thin summoner non-too-gracefully over his shoulder.

"Careful about your spikes," Gabriella added quickly, seeing a look of pain cross her peer's features when Madeline's stomach made contact with Kidd's broad shoulder.

"Hmph," Kidd grunted, readjusting the thin summoner mage's weight on his shoulder so that her stomach wasn't be stabbed by the bronze spikes decorating his coat's collar. "There," he grunted again. "Now move," he ordered, emphasizing his point by smacking her ass.

Gabriella jerked forward with a yelp then whipped her head around to give him a death glare that told him: _don't-do-that-again._

Kidd, though he saw that was an order, couldn't help a smirk, a smirk saying: _shut-up-because-you-know-you-like-it._

Gabriella scoffed, stalking into the hidden building, which only made Kidd chuckle at her stiff body.

She liked it, he knew she did.

Pushing aside musing at his summer mage, Kidd followed her into the building.

The white walls were blinding, and it didn't help that there were also bright lights just enhancing the whiteness of it all. It made Kidd blink for a second, colorful dots clouding his vision that started to make him dizzy, and he had half the mind to pull his goggles over his eyes for protection. Though, after a minute of mindless blinking, his pupils thinned, taking in less light from the world around him and that's when he took the lead, guiding everyone blindly through the foreign territory that was probably under the marine's control.

If it wasn't for the fact that the building was in an inactive marine base to draw attention away from the outside world, then the fact that the marines stupid logo was painted on all the doors that they passed.

It made Kidd scrunch up his nose with distaste; stupid marine pests, but then again, he felt a bit of excitement run through his veins at this. He couldn't remember the last time he found the marines, and he was itching to have a bounty raise again, and also to test out his new pepperbox revolver that he got, well the correct term would be stole, but did Kidd seem like the man to care? No, he didn't, he took what he wanted when he wanted it. That's what pirates do.

Then a light pull on his coat's sleeve made him stopped his stroll, and he looked around to see Gabriella tugging him back behind a wall.

"There are some marines on guard over there," she whispered.

Kidd looked around the edge of the wall, seeing that there were two marines, two sleepy looking marines that is.

The two military men were leaning against their rifles, dozing off to the sound of humming that was behind the large metal door they were guarding. Kidd saw this as a quick kill, which was slightly disappointing. He would have hoped that there were more marines to fight, but then again, this research facility was probably hidden, so they wouldn't need many marines there. But a disappointment all the same.

There was a shifting on his shoulder and a groan, signaling that Madeline had awakened from unconsciousness. He quickly placed her back on her feet, with the exact same grace when he picked her up, which was none. So, the thin summoner mage ended up stumbling backwards and almost to the floor, and if it wasn't for Gabriella, Madeline would have been knocked out again, especially if Killer would have been behind her, who would have side stepped from the falling mage instantly like a second instinct.

Kidd turned away from the small scene from behind him, taking out his new revolver from the strap over his chest. It was smaller and he still wasn't used to it yet, but it fit nicely next to his pistol, he decided to keep it in the end, and his dagger.

He took aim, the man of his target looking like he would fall over any second because of sleep, cocking it fully and then…

_Bang!_

The trigger was pulled; the bullets flew from the multi barrel all at once like a harmonic note that rang beautifully in Kidd's ears, then the melodic song of death from a drossy man came next, and a _thud_ to the floor ended the piece.

The second marine jumped from sleep startled and wide eyed at the wonderful music Kidd created just for the man's fellow comrade and Kidd decided to play the tune one more time.

_Bang!_

The second marine hit the floor.

What a beautiful sound that was, and he grinned at the blood pooling around the bodies, crimson red staining the dreaded white tiled floor, giving the room just the color it needed.

Kidd placed his revolver back into its home between his pistol and dagger, and then turned behind him to see the not-so-pretty sight of his summoner mage scowling at him.

"That was pretty loud, you know," she simply said with a scoff, implying the fact that someone could have heard it, and Kidd hoped that someone heard it, would make this little retrieve and steal mission so much more interesting.

But since Gabriella seemed pissed off at the moment, he decided that he wasn't going to kindle the flame; he could do that later. So, he just shrugged, and turned down the hall, walking towards the dead marines and the first thing that any pirate does is loot the man that fell before his hands.

Two wallets filled with a decent amount of beli, and a few pictures, probably of family. Kidd, disinterested by the precious photos of the marines loved one, threw them over his shoulder and pocketed the beli. He had to make a least a little profit on his sidetrack of a mission.

Gabriella walked passed him, her shoulder brushing against his arm and she stopped, standing in front of the door trying to figure out a way to try and open it probably.

Kidd rolled his eyes at this, and then the doors flew open, startling his summoner mage at the unknown brute force that opened them. Then she looked around at him, seeing that he had a hand held out still sparking with purple streams on energy from his devil fruit, and he smirked.

"Ceh," she scoffed, turning back to the door acting rather unimpressed with his actions to _help_ her.

Kidd scowled. What was her problem seriously? Just an hour ago she was making out with him and now she was pretty much being a bitch; she could just be a bipolar wench at times, and no matter how many times Doctor Dick told him that Gabriella was not bipolar, Kidd still called her that. Mood swings equals bipolar in his mind, and Doctor Dick could go fuck himself with a dick with all his lectures about the disorder and how it should not be used like that likely. Kidd hated being lectured just as much as he hated being ordered around.

"What is this?" the voice of his first-mate brought Kidd away from his inner thoughts, and he saw that the summoner mages and Killer had stepped through the doorway, and he quickly did the same.

The doorway led to a balcony walkway that wrapped around the entire room, then a ram was located on the other side of room that made the eye look at all the machinery humming and buzzing loudly in the ears of all, even the men and women in medical lab coats fussing over on little thing inside a giant green-tinted glass dome. From what he could see from the distance, the object was blood red and glowing brightly from behind the glass and Kidd was surprised that such a tiny thing could make something so bright.

"Gabs…" Madeline drew out in a shocked wind of breathe. "It's the gem…"

"I know…" Gabriella said slowly, her voice sounding thick as she spoke. "And what in the hells are the marines doing with it!" she hissed, every bit of hair on her body prickling up like a cat.

"Looks like they are studying it," Killer bluntly stated. "Probably wanted to do it in secret since they shut down the base."

"But if that damn council found out about this they would have the marines' heads!" Gabriella exclaimed, which earned a hand from Kidd to cover her mouth sharply and they all ducked behind the half wall to hide from the baffled eyes of the researchers.

"Quiet," Kidd ordered.

Gabriella scowled darkly at him. "No!" she snapped full of rage. "The marines have something important to me, and not only are they trying to find the use of it, but they are putting this entire island in danger!"

"You don't know that," Kidd snarled back, his hand just twitching to slap her, but he wasn't going to do that. Not yet at least.

"The island wouldn't have made the base a park if they knew and the marines obviously don't care since they let the island do this! They are probably using them as scapegoats! The relocation of the base was probably a cover up so that they could do _this_, and if the council found out then the island would be blamed, not the marines, and I refuse to let that happen!" she sneered and shot up from her couch and jumped over with Madeline right behind her.

"**Gabriella!**" Kidd roared, not because he was worried about her going off into battle full of blind rage, but because she just disobeyed him _and_ also talked back. That was a definite **no** in his book, but his boiling rage was completely lost at what happened next.

Gabriella and Madeline both landed on the ground on the main floor of the room, the marine researchers going onto shock at the foreign, unwelcome visitors.

The stares were ignored by the summoner mages and they both pulled on their familiars screaming: "_**Second Phase!**_"

* * *

><p>We finally meet Jacques!<p>

And sometimes I just want to smack Kidd upside the head, you know?


	31. Chapter 30: Second Phase

I was behind on everything this week, including this chapter...action scenes aren't my best...

Alpenwolf: Your questions shall be answered.

UnperfectButLovingIt: I wasn't trying to be cruel...or was I?_ Dun, dun, dun..._

Tigereye13: Drake would be Yoshi, not a dragon, and your questions will be answered this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 30: Second Phase.<p>

"_**Second phase!**_" both summer mages screamed as they landed on the ground, pulling out their familiars from their cloaks, a look of rage on both their faces and it was a surprise to see Madeline of all people in a state of pure, heated rage.

The familiars flew through the air, lips curled back in snarls to show sharp teeth as the mages threw them at the marine scientists who were in chaos, running around in panic not because the two women, but the images of the feared pirates on the balcony walkway right above them.

But their fear was then transferred quickly to the familiars as the small green, winged goblin and little purple lizards, when their smaller then life bodies started to glow the same crimson as the little gem inside the giant green-tinted dome. Then the shimmering red glow grew, slowly at first, but then it was faster until the room was bathed in red to the point where everyone had to shield there eyes from the stinging light affecting their pupils.

"_**SMASH!**_" an ogre-like voice roared, shaking the ever walls of the room and seeming to cast away the crimson hue from the room as if it was glass dome, making the area safe for the eyes of the innocent, well, _mostly_ innocent.

Kidd removed the arm that was covering his eyes, and he looked at the center of the room, seeing a mess of broken machinery with sparking wires that were flaring a bout like wild snakes, but amongst the carnage he saw something unbelievable.

There, in the middle of crushed, scarp metal was a muscular green monster: scaly green skin with a flicking tail swishing back and forth, hitting all in its way, spikes smashing into the stomachs of lab coat researchers into more machinery. Smoke filtered up to the ceiling, obscuring Kidd's view of the scaly beast, but through a small window between two curtains of smoke, Kidd saw the board shoulders of the green monster, and he saw two tiny, unusable wings that fluttered helplessly against its back.

That's when Kidd connected the dots. "It's Musket…" he said slowly, more to himself than anything, but he was answered.

"Seems like it," Killer responded, and Kidd could hint the small surprise laced in his calm voice. "And that must be Russell."

Kidd looked to where his first-mate was pointing, and he saw the not-so-little purple lizard, but now he saw a large, slithering snake. The legs had slipped into the skin of the viper, allowing it to grow in size, and razor sharp fangs grew from the enlarged familiar's mouth to cause mayhem to the mechanical world that belonged to the researchers.

Russell showed no mercy, just like Musket, using their new found bodies to their full advantage for an attack, causing all the researchers to run around wildly in panic from the deadly fangs and hands.

A large man with glasses and drowning in an overly large snow-white color lab coat safe for the navy blue band around his upper arm started to bark orders to the other researchers in the room, his face turning a crimson red to be heard over the sound of buzzing sirens and alarms. He was telling them to calm down, if that was even possible, telling them to call in the marines.

Kidd couldn't help but smirk at that; so there was more marines in the little, secret research facility, and it only made it better when a panicked man actually listened to the man, scooping up a den-den mushi and screaming at the top of the lungs for back up because the he, Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd and crew, was there.

And his grin only grew more when he saw the marines start pouring in, filing out in an orderly line even through all the maddening chaos; the marines really _were_ suckers for protocol no matter where they were.

Though, Kidd wanted to join in on the fun of killing lots of moronic men with all the scorching, scrap metal at his disposal around the room, but for once, he decided to kick back and enjoy the show.

The enlarged version of Musket continued to bellow with elementary, single word sentences of death to the marines, raining down green scaly fists of terror along with feet stomping the brains right out of skulls of the lowly foot soldiers getting crushed under the pressure of his giant heels.

The marines started to go into a panicked frenzy, but the captain in charge of them started to bellow orders, barking at them over the screams and blazing flames, telling them not to show fear and to stay in formation. The men tried to cover their emotions of fright, though they weren't doing a very good job of it, but they listened to their superior's orders anyway, rushing into a sloppy line and cocking their rifles, then holding them up for aim, locking onto their first target: the smashing, trembling with rage Musket ogre.

The captain raised a hand over his head; his dark eyes watching every move Musket made as he barreled towards the misshapen line of marines. "_**Fire!**_" his hand swiped downward as he said the lone word over the roaring flames that was caused from broken machinery.

The marines instantly listened to the order like the whipped sea dogs they were, pulling back on the triggers of their rifles and the lead bullets flew out with a _bang_ the zoomed through the air towards the deadly green beast.

Musket roared; a shrieking bellow erupting from this thick throat as the bullets pellet his skin, but no damage was caused, not even a dent. The tiny, fast-moving lead spheres hit the scaly skin full force, but the skin reacted as if it was iron, a spark flying off as the bullets repelled away with echoing _pangs_ that sent the projectiles all over the room.

Kidd and Killer had to duck down behind the solid metal railing of the balcony walkway, shielding them from the bullets. Kidd would have used his devil fruit powers, but the unpredictability of the bullets flying around the room just didn't mix well. One stray bullet Kidd couldn't see and he or Killer could have the lead running through their skin, which was something neither of them wanted.

Then a scream made him look over, not because it was the girly shriek of one of the summoner mages, but rather the sound of a shrill, girly _man's_ voice, and when Kidd peeked over the edge of the railing, he saw Madeline's large snake of a familiar squeezing the life out of not just one man, but multiple.

Russell was constricting the very souls from the men within his purple, scaly grasp, the men's eyes almost bulging from their purple face that bended in with the snake's skin. But before the life was sucked out of the lowly researchers, the large man with glasses, the head researcher most likely, came out of the smoke, baring a large metal fist that smashed into the snake's jaw. Russell hissed with a painful yelp, letting go of his load before he went flying into a heap of burning lab equipment.

As the giant snake was getting out of the mess he was in, the head researcher grabbing two marines that were running by, fisting a fabric full in his hands from the back of their uniform shirts, and then he barked something that couldn't be heard in the distance, but the push and finger jab towards the two summoner mages was enough to understand what the order was: kill them.

Kidd had no worries when he saw the two lone marines starting to charge the summoner mages, he knew Gabriella was a big girl and could fight, especially when she had her spear with her, he didn't know about Madeline, but Gabriella was a pretty good fighter when she needed to be. He looked over the edge, and he saw that the two mages hadn't moved since the fight started…and they weren't moving even with the marines getting closer and closer… "Fuck," Kidd gritted; his summoner mage couldn't move for some reason, and she would end up tasting the bullet if he didn't do something. So, he jumped over the railing, pulling out his dagger during the fall and then just before the marine could harm a hair on his summoner mage, the blade sank into the hat covering the offending man's head, digging through the skin and skull, right to his brain.

The marine opened his mouth and closed it like a fish out of water, blood pouring from any hole found on the head like a gushing waterfall and when the blade was removed, he crumbled to the ground on his knees, the iron liquid staining ever inch of white on the marine's body, from clothes to skin.

Kidd head another scream, but it was cut short, and he saw that Killer had also jumped down, his long blades at the ready to slide the second marine clear in half from the stomach.

Madeline, who was standing behind Killer while shielding from herself with her arms from the marine coming, lower her arms and gasped loudly. "You saved me!" she said in a girlish squeal, but then crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm still mad at you, by the way."

Killer slowly turned his masked head around to come face to face with her. "_Good,_" he bluntly declared, then dashed off into the battle.

Kidd tuned out whatever Madeline was saying towards the masked blonde, err, still a fading red head, while she was shaking a fist angrily over her head, and Kidd turned towards his summoner mage. "Why didn't you move?" he glared at her.

"I can't explain right now," she gritted through her grinding teeth, watching her familiar in battle intensely.

"I think you should since you couldn't fucking_ move_ when you were about to be _attacked_," Kidd growled, glancing at her for a spilt second while replacing his dagger back in its proper place then pulled out his pistol and shot a marine that was getting to close for his liking.

"_I can't explain right now_," she repeated in a snap, not even turning to look at him. "We don't have time."

"We have plenty of time," Kidd responded shortly.

Gabriella looked at him this time like he was completely crazy. "Are you crazy!" she said the words that were being portrayed quite clearly by the expression on her face. "We are the middle of battle!"

"We _were_ in the middle of battle," Kidd corrected with a devilish grin, jerking his head towards the battlefield.

Gabriella looked at him dumbfounded, but then she looked over and saw that he was right, once Killer joined the fight, the marines' and researchers' lives came to a quick end, and they stood no chance.

"So, get explaining," Kidd ordered, placing his pistol back in its home by his new pepperbox revolver.

Gabriella sighed deeply. "Fine," she looked back at him in annoyance. "It's called second phase, it's something all mages can do once they make a bond with their familiars where they share their magic. Though, it comes with a price because once a familiar is in second phase, the movement of the mage is limited. At earlier ages, the mage can't move at all."

"Like you," Kidd cut in curiously.

Gabriella narrowed her golden eyes at him. "Shut up," she bluntly said, but then continued. "As the mage gets older and more powerful, then the mage came move more, like dodging simple things, but the magic the mage can use is weakened by half because half the magic goes to the familiar so they can be in this state," she motion with a hand towards Musket who had wrapped his muscular arms around the green-tinted dome, making the glass crack under the pressure, and when the familiar pulled upward, the dome went up and then Musket through the dome, shattering it on the wall behind him. "See," Gabriella finished.

Kidd just shrugged. "And how does he get on of it?"

Kidd's question was answered when a red puff of smoke engulfed both familiars then once the smoke filtered away, the familiars turned to their original forms.

"Oh," he simply said.

Musket dropped to the floor with a comical squeak, rubbing his head, but then he turned towards his master with a grin. "It's here, Master! It's here!" he shot up from the floor, his wings finally being used for its purpose.

Gabriella nodded, but when she tried to move, she stumbled slightly and she would have fallen to the ground if it wasn't for Kidd wrapping an arm around her waist.

Madeline, on the other hand, did fall to the ground. The thin summoner mage groaned loudly, shifting back into a sitting position while rubbing her head, but when she saw that Kidd and Gabriella had already started to move forward, she got up quickly, feeling light headed for a minute. The second of dizziness past over her, and she hurried to catch up with the two gingers, but then something hit her like a wall. "Wait," she stopped the two gingers and stepped in front of them. "There is an enchanter's circle here," she said, pointing towards the small, purple glowing circle around the hovering crimson colored gem.

"Do you think you can cancel it out with a devil's curse, or something?" Gabriella questioned.

Madeline shook her head solemnly. "No," she answered. "This isn't just any enchanter's circle, this is the council's circle," she pointed towards the decorative circle of tribal designs. "This is Councilman Malo's circle; this is his signature mark, making it a curse as well."

Gabriella glared darkly. "So, this is the reason why Calamity is sick, the council cursed it so when she got too close it would make her sick."

Madeline nodded her head grimly.

"So, what do we do now," Gabriella sighed in irritation.

Madeline looked over at her peer knowingly. "You know what we have to do."

Gabriella looked a little shocked at the response. "You mean…"

"Yes," Madeline nodded again. "We have to call the rest of us, and use the four pillars to break the curse."

* * *

><p>Cliff hanger, but...April Fools! There is still more! A little April Fool's special for the special day.<p>

So, enjoy. :)

~...~

Gabriella scowled darkly up at the ceiling with her arms crossed over her chest while lying on her back in bed: Kidd had gotten drunk last night, so drunk that he made a fool out of her, the jerk. But she wasn't going to let it slide, oh, she was _so_ going to get him back at him, and she had the perfect plan in mind.

She smirked, pulling off the covers and jumped out of bed then striped to nothing but her bare skin, then she went back into bed, crawling slowly over to Kidd's side, ready to do the same to him, but then she stopped. If she took Kidd's pants off, did it make her like Madeline?

No, it wouldn't, it wasn't like she was going to _rape_ Kidd, she was only pulling a harmless prank on him. So, she went through with the rest of her plan, pulling off Kidd's pants, though in a way where he was still covered, just to give him a bit of decency.

Kidd grunted and shuttered when the warmth from the pants of his lower body were gone, and he looked ready to wake up and Gabriella hurried to her side of the bed again, pressing her back against the headboard and cuddling a pillow to her bare chest, and she waited to see if her acting skills could fool him.

Kidd slowly got up, resting back on one of his elbows as his other hand rubbed the back of his head. "I feel like I got hit with a brick..." he grumbled, but then shivered. "And why is it so fucking cold?" he looked under the blankets and his eyes went wide. "Why the fuck am I _naked?_" he questioned, looking over to her for answers, but then his jaw went slack. "Are you..._naked?_"

Gabriella nodded her head.

Kidd stared at her. "How drunk _was_ I?"

"That doesn't matter right now," Gabriella said calmly with a frown, looking over at Kidd. "I need to tell you something," she said, pushing the pillow away from her chest, and Kidd stared at it like it was the greatest thing he saw in the world, but Gabriella grabbed his cheeks forcing him to look at her face, though his eyes still looked downward. But, the next thing she said will get him to look her in the eyes. "I'm pregnant."

The look on his face was priceless, his paler than normal skin turned white and his eyes went the same shade; it almost looked like he was going to stop breathing. "Wh-wh-_**what!**_" he stuttered, pushing away from her until he fell over the edge of the bed and went to the floor with a _bang_.

Gabriella crawled over to the edge where Kidd had fallen over, and looked down at him.

Kidd stared up at her wide eyed, tangled up in the blankets. "_Are you serious?_" he fumbled with his words nervously.

"No," Gabriella finally let the smirk grace her lips. "April Fools, Kidd."

~...~

:D


	32. Chapter 31: Four Pillars

**NEWSFLASH: **For some reason His Heir wasn't 'updating', as in there was that page that said wait up to five minutes. So, after 2 hours and it was still there, I deleted the chapter and re up loaded it, and Lord and behold, over 12 hours later, nothing has changed. So, I tried deleting it again, and hopefully it works.

I'm glad people liked my little April Fool's joke; it was just a quick little thing I came up with, and I got this chapter done faster then last weeks, so it isn't as late as last week. :D

motherloosegoose: Thanks for thinking my story is wonderful and that you love it; makes me super happy to hear that from readers. :)

UnperfectButLovingIt: Image if Gabriella had Kidd going for three hours...gosh, he would be pissed, and April Fool's is an epic holiday. Also, I try to be as cruel as I can be when I write, _mwuahaha!_

Tigereye13: Your question to the 'rest' of them will be answered now, and a little insight on the others as well. P.S. Thank you for getting those errors for me. :)

Alpenwolf: I guess Second Phase is like Chopper's powers... And Killer does live up to his name, though I was just doing it to move the chapter along quicker, but I like your reason better. ;)

WritingQueen14: Foreshadowing of Gabriella pregnant? No. Foreshadowing of a gag for kicks and giggles? **Hell yeah**. This isn't the last time you will see Kidd freaking out because he thinks Gabriella is pregnant.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 31: Four Pillars.<p>

The Four Pillars Spell; Gabriella never thought that they would need to use that spell. It was a spell Calamity invented just in case the council used a special seal that kept her away from the gem, but her teacher thought that the council would see that she isn't like that, using the gem to gain power, but rather would use it to help take down a common enemy. That's not what happened though. The council didn't know their enemy like Calamity did, so out of fear, they did the exact thing that Calamity prepared for: a cursed seal around her gem.

Gabriella was lucky that Madeline was there to tell her that there was a curse, or who knows what would have happened if she touched the gem or even got close to the craved seals on the ground. She could have been fried by a stream of lightening from the heavens or worse, teleported to the council's doorsteps, and being Caden's Heir, she was bound to get hanged. So, she thanked her peer for that; for that one thing that Madeline was good at.

Madeline's summoning skills under pressure weren't the best, she made many mistakes, and her fighting skills on a scale of one to ten was a negative ten. The reason why she was one out of the four of Calamity's elite group was because of her knowledge of other types of magic. Madeline knew more than she should about other magic, especially enchanter's magic, but she still knew a good hand full about other magic still, which helped out a lot with battle strategies. That wasn't Madeline's job though; she couldn't make a battle plan if she couldn't fight, _at all_. That was George's expertise.

George was also a part of the elite, the third out of four along with Gabriella and Madeline. He was smart, actually smart was an understandment, he was a pure _genius_. His summoning magic was on the weaker side, though not as weak as Madeline's, but his brain really made up for it, to the point where he could get the enemy to do the chicken dance for two whole hours with just talking them up for two minutes. He could twist words to the point where they broke, and the enemy would snap, ending up attacking their allies out of rage, and George did this all with his knowledge of reading people. Of course, sometimes it didn't work, not everything goes according to plan, and that is where Gabriella, and the fourth and final member of the elite group, Mason, came in.

Mason and Gabriella were the muscle of the group; they had the stronger summoning skills, being able to bring forth more powerful demons and devils to the battlefield compared to Madeline and George, and their fighting skills were better. Both she and Mason could handle any weapon: blades, staffs, aerial weapons like crossbows and bows, almost anything. Though, being excellent fighters came with a price, they weren't as…_knowledgeable_ like Madeline and George when it came to certain things, especially Mason. He was the true example of more bronze than brains, but he did have a nice set of muscles, Gabriella would admit that.

But Kidd's were better. _A lot_ better.

Gabriella just liked guys with nice muscles, was that a crime?

Though, the fact that Gabriella likes muscular men was the exact reason why Mason started to work out like crazy, pumping as much lead as he could to get the pecks he wanted to impress her, because Mason had the biggest crush on Gabriella, and he was just as crazy as his twin sister. That's right, Mason and Madeline were twins, and just like Madeline, he liked certain things in a person, that certain thing being pointy ears. He said it's exotic, and he likes exotic women.

So, Gabriella was torn between using the Four Pillars Spell.

They needed to do it because they needed all four of them to remove the seal and curse to get the gem, and _that_ was super important, but then again, she didn't want to call the other two because of Mason. He was _**crazy**_, and also because Kidd would have a raging fit since, just like Madeline, Mason did _not_ take a hint that she didn't like him, no matter how many times she told him _no-I-do-__**NOT**__-like-you_. Mason would always say she was in denial, even when she had a boyfriend in the past. Though, maybe the appearance of Kidd would actually make Mason back off, maybe. Kidd was pretty intimidating, but then again, Mason was really crazy.

"Ready?" Madeline questioned, waving a hand in front of Gabriella's face, snapping the summoner mage away from her inner thoughts.

Gabriella shook her head quickly, shoving the thoughts aside to the back of her mind and then she nodded her head silently. She pulled Kidd's hand away from her hip and slipped away from his grasp, and she groaned because her red headed captain decided to be difficult and wouldn't let go, and she had to advert to ripping his pale hand away from gripping her skin.

She heard the low growl rumbled from Kidd's throat, but she ignored it and walked away, passing Killer along the way as the masked blonde, well, he still had light red hair actually, and he was cleaning his bloody blades with the red sash that was around his waist.

Madeline nodded in return when she saw that Gabriella was on her way, and started to fumble through the pockets of her cloak until she pulled out a small sliver of chalk. With a small smile, she bent over, crouching down close to the floor that wasn't bloodied by red, and she started to draw a large circle, and then she made another one next to it. "Okay," she finally said, pocketing the chalk back into her robe then stood back up. "You use the transportation spell, Gabs."

"Alright," the summoner mage answered her peer, placing her hands together and closed her eyes. The magic started to flow through her finger tips, a feeling of warmth traveling through her body, right to the veins, and her blood started to boiling, signaling that she needed to start the chant to call forth her other peers, and then after only a minute—

"_**Gabriella!**_" her name was screamed by a deep, familiar voice, and she almost stumbled backwards as she felt the weight of an elephant ram into her chest, but then strong arms stopped her from falling backwards, bringing her into a bone crushing hug. "_I've missed you, babe!_" Mason cried, shoving her head to press against his well built chest, the warmth of his bare skin radiating into her cheek. He still never wore a shirt, trying to get her to see his muscles, and he probably still cut his hair short, trying to showcase his handsome face, and did he get even more muscular during their time apart?

Wait. Not important, what was important was the deadly aura being narrowly shot in her direction by a certain red head not too far away. She tried to push away from Mason, but all she got was him fisting his hand into her ginger hair and pressing her cheek to his chest, and he began to snuggle the top of her head.

"_Mason!_" Madeline screeched, hooking her fists to her hips. "_Stop coddling Gabriella! She has a boyfriend!_"

That made Gabriella blink. _Boyfriend?_ Were her and Kidd on girlfriend, boyfriend titles now? When did _this_ happen?

Mason stopped cuddling the side of his cheek into her hair and looked over at Madeline blankly. "So?"

"So? _So!_" Madeline scolded, jabbing a finger in Kidd's direction. "Do you know who_ that_ is!"

Mason slowly glanced over his shoulder, blinking at the scowling face of Kidd. "Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd," he simply answered with a shrug and went back to cuddling Gabriella to death pretty much.

Madeline slapped a hand to her forehead and grumbled in frustration at her twin brother, and stormed over to him, trying to pull him away from squeezing Gabriella anymore, because he was starting to choke her, seriously.

"Don't even bother trying to stop him, Madeline," the smooth voice of George finally spoke up. "He's just like you," he bluntly stated, crossing his arms over his chest, the fur on his shoulders ruffling as the muscles tensed with the movement.

Madeline whipped around, going wide eyed, like she was actually surprised to see George, or it was because he still had the piece of black cloth covering his nose and mouth along the glaring glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and long bangs of hair hanging down, shielding bits of his eyes. So, overall, hiding his entire face, like a _mask_. "I stopped liking you," she retorted firmly, placing her hands on her hips. "I have moved on."

George blinked his eyes behind his glasses, slowly turning his head look at Killer, the masked man holding Kidd back by the arm, trying to stop him from ripping apart Mason for touching Gabriella like that. "You have a thing for the first-mate of the Kidd Pirates," he commented, turning back to face Madeline.

"That's right," she replied smugly with a smirk, but then it dropped to a frown. "Well, we are taking a break right now because his hair is red."

George blinked again, turning back to Killer. "You dyed your hair red?" _To-get-rid-of-her?_ was the unsaid question added to the first.

"No," Killer answered, picking up on the unasked. "Something…happened and this was the turn out," _and-it-was-amazing_ was the unsaid response. "And it was amazing," now it was in the open.

Madeline scoffed in utter offense and then turned on the heel of her boot, storming over to the green-tinted done with the gem in the center.

George nodded and mumbled to himself. "I should have thought of that," he said to himself, fingering a lock of his dark midnight-blue hair.

Killer tilted his masked head, and the state of thought gave Kidd his chance to step away and started towards the foreign man hugging _his_ summoner mage.

Kidd stalked over to Mason who was almost choking Gabriella in a death grip called a hug, and he slapped a hand on the mage's muscular shoulder and forcibly pulled him away from Gabriella and snarled: "_Fuck off_."

Mason stumbled back in surprise, but then he scowled, pulling away from the hand latching onto his shoulder and then had the nerve, or guts, to glare menacingly back at Kidd.

A vein started to bugle on Kidd's forehead right above his hairless brow; no one looked at him like that. Though there was Killer, but he had the mask on, and then there was Doc, but Kidd was smart enough to know not to kill his own doctor because he knew that he wouldn't be able to replace Doctor Dick; he was the only man that could handle the Kidd Pirates' ways, and then there was Gabriella, but she barely got away with it. So, only a few lived the tale to say they stood up to Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd, but this was one man that would not.

Gabriella saw the movement, and rushed over to Kidd, wrapped her arms around his. "_Kidd, Kidd!_" she clung to the arm that was going for his revolver. "_You can't kill him,_" she exclaimed in a hurried tone of worry.

A tone that Kidd did _not_ like and he scowled down at her. "_And why not?_"

"Because she loves me," Mason answered mockingly with a smirk.

Kidd snarled like a wild animal, ready to escape Gabriella's grip, and she panicked, doing the only thing she could. Gabriella latched onto him further, swinging one leg around his waist then she pulled her weight up so both her legs were wrapped around his hips. It didn't calm him down, so she grabbed his cheeks, forcing his red tinted gaze to look her in the eyes, and then he calmed down a bit, especially when he looked over her shoulder, and Gabriella was pretty damn sure it had to do with the look on Mason's face: jealous rage. "You sure about that?" Kidd mused, wrapping his arms around her, pulling their chests together tightly.

Gabriella didn't need to look around at Mason to know that steam started to blow from his ears, she could just hear it because the comment of Kidd's just pushed all the right buttons. Then, there was movement, and the devilish grin on Kidd's face told her there was going to be a show down, but then the voice of George stopped everything.

"We need to get the gem," he reminded not only Mason, but everyone. "So, let's get to work," he ordered.

Gabriella mentally nodded and listened to the command, and also to Kidd's disappointment, she slipped away from his body. She had a quick bounce in her step so that Kidd wouldn't try and pull her back, and she pretty much dashed towards the gem where Madeline was finishing up drawing her chalk circle for the spell. Then, George's voice came into the picture again.

"Sorry, gentlemen," he said coolly, and there was a small shutter of fabric moving. "But this is something you cannot see."

_Zap~!_

**Thud**, went two bodies in the background, and Gabriella looked over her shoulder with a frown.

"It had to be done, Gabriella," George said flatly, walking calmly back over to them. "Now, let's begin."

* * *

><p>There was a gently patting on Kidd's cheek that made him groan sharply, his hairless brows twitching and he jerked his head away from the feeling. He <em>hated<em> being awaken up from sleep, absolutely _loathed_ it, and he just knew that whomever was trying to get him to fully wake up, would continue to pat his cheek, and the consequences would be bloody, no matter who it was.

Then, the unexpected happened. He was expecting another tap to his cheek, but instead, he felt soft lips on his, moving gently to wake him. He groaned quietly at the pleasurable touch, and his hand probed for the hair of the person kissing him. Long and soft; very familiar to his sense of touch. He may have hated being awaken up from sleep, but this was a method that he could work with, a method that worked _and_ didn't piss him off.

But then the kissing stopped, the lips leaving his and he grunted in disapproval, opening his eyes slowly, and there he looked into the golden gaze of his summoner mage, and he blinked.

She had a glow to her, maybe it could have been because of the gem she was holding in her hand, or the chalk circles radiating a soft glow of gold throughout the room. What was it, Kidd didn't know, but she had a smile on that he rarely saw. It was soft, gentle and small, and he could only remember one other time she looked at him like that, a sense of pure happiness coming from her form.

It made Kidd wonder: did he make her smile like that?

"Look, Kidd," she whispered quietly, holding up the small gem that was glowing a soft crimson hue, bathing the exposed skin of her person with a red tint that just added to her natural, happy glow. "It's the gem, Calamity's gem," she simply said and rested her head against his chest, sighing deeply in relief, like a burden was lifted off her shoulders.

Kidd sighed as well: of course it was the gem that made her happy like that, not him.

* * *

><p><em>Awe~<em>.

I think Kidd's sad. :'(


	33. Chapter 32: Staying with you?

Tigereye13: Actually, Madeline and Mason's parents are normal, it's their uncle that messed them up, and you are very right about Kidd: he is not a happy camper.

UnperfectButLovingIt: Kidd was sad :'(, but I bet he wouldn't admit it.

Alpenwolf: Now, Urouge, I'm going to be honest, is ugly. Gabriella would not like him, and she already likes Kidd. George is cool, he's named after George from Ranger's Apprentice, greatest book in the whole world.

motherloosegoose: The beginning was pretty funny, like Madeline, Mason's character is pretty humorous, but the ending was sad. :(

Now, all those questions about will Gabriella stay, well it will be answered here. _So enjoy my ducklings~_

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 32: Staying with you?<p>

Kidd was not a happy camper for he was angry. Actually, 'angry' was an understandment because he was burning steam from his ears while his face turned the same shade as his flaming red hair. Kidd was infuriated to the point were he could rid the mental head right off of that damn Shichibukai Kuma's shoulders with his bare hands.

He was _that_ pissed, and for so many god damn reasons, and that made his crew steer clear of him as he stalked around the deck, pacing back and forth with loud threatening stomps.

Reason one on why he was so pissed: he was knocked out just like that.

Gabriella's 'friend' George decided to pull out a green pearl from his pocket while saying they couldn't see something important, and being the pirates Killer and he were, they were interested in the odd colored piece of expensive gem rather than the words the mage was saying. It looked strange, something that neither of them had seen before in the loots they had stolen over the years. They had seen regular white pearls the women wore to look like nobility, they had seen pink pearls that noble women wore to make them seem more important than others, and lastly they once saw a large purple pearl worn by a world noble at the slave auction at Shabondy, but they never saw a green one. So, it was odd for them, and it only got odder when it started to spark light blue, a stream of lightening snaking from the little green pearl's surface then **zap**, he and Killer were out cold, crumbling to the floor in a way that could be considered unmanly because they _never_ hit the floor like that so easily, and rarely ever did.

Just remembering the thought pissed Kidd off even more, and it made him want strangle the scrawny neck since the mage was on his fucking deck currently, leaning lazily against the mass of his ship with a carefree attitude that reminded him of that smug ass rival captain of his. Then, Kidd's gaze traveled from the lean mage to the muscular one, and that led him right into the second reason why he was pissed.

Mason: the damn mother fucker that was trying to horn in on _his_, aka: property of Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd's, summoner mage. Kidd didn't give a flying fuck if this guy knew Gabriella longer then he did. He needed to fucking back off, seriously, he need to step back so far that he back off into the ocean and drown or he was going to get his fucking head ripped from his shoulders, just like that damn metal head of a Shichibukai. All the mage needed to do was look at Kidd the wrong way or say an irritating comment, and Kidd could do it since Gabriella wasn't there to stop him like last time, which was actually the third reason why Kidd was pissed.

She was missing, hence the reason why he was pacing back and forth on the deck violently while staring out at the island from a distance. Ten minutes: ten minutes out to sea is all it took for someone to ask where she was. Kidd, being in a state of pure, bloody rage when everything settled in after the gem was found, didn't notice that she was gone until Chamberlain asked in the emotionless way of his, moving his dark hair from his eyes when he was doing a head count.

So now, they had to drop anchor and wait.

Kidd _hated_ to wait, _loathed_ it, just like he hated to be awaken up from sleep. "Where the fuck is she?" he questioned harshly as he walked passed Killer for the twentieth time, flexing his fingers before they became numb from being balled up into tight fists.

Killer just shrugged his shoulder. "Who knows? She is probably getting something," he said with another shoulder shrug. "Jacques told us that she said something about it."

A fourth reason to the list of why Kidd was pissed: the fucking bomber didn't tell him that Gabriella was still on the island, the stupid French bastard. "But what the fuck does she even need to get!" Kidd growled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"There are a lot of things that women need to get," Killer answered. "They are needy creatures."

Kidd stopped pacing, rubbing the back of his neck and took a deep breathe to try calming down. "True," he agreed shortly with an exhale of a sigh, glancing over to the island from the corner of his eyes, but he wished he didn't, making his head turn completely.

_**BOOOM~**_ went the island, well, half of it, the half that had the old marine base on it.

That made Kidd's eyes go wide. There would only be one reason why it blew up: "_**GABRIELLA!**_"

* * *

><p>Gabriella rolled the last of the barrels into place with the others and her summoned demon placed another two from his shoulders and to the floor in the pile they made. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and sighed, a smirk crossing her lips. "That's the last of them," she said, looking up to her demon.<p>

The demon grunted, the gruff note causing the snowy white fur all over his body to bounce, and then he grunted again in discomfort.

"Alright, alright," she waved a hand. "I know, I know. A snow demon such as yourself is getting hot, but you were the strongest of my lowest level spells. I'm trying to keep on the down low, you know?"

The demon just grunted again, waiting for her to open the portal to his winter home, and the summoner mage did so, her hand starting to glow the golden hue of her magic. Then, there was a zipper opening sound, a bronze line forming from out of nowhere and then split open to let out chilling winter winds that cooled down the heat of simmering fires around the ruined research facility. The demon grunted one last time, a smirk crossing his thick, grey lips that showcase his sharp teeth poking out, and then he stepped into the portal, making the zipper sound echo in the destroyed room once more after he stepped through.

Once the portal was closed, Gabriella started to dig through the pockets of her cloak, her fingers looking for the lighter she got from Jacques before she left to take care of one last thing: aka, getting rid of the evidence that she was the one that caused this, Kidd should still be blamed though, but that would just add to his bounty, so he would be okay with it.

As her fingers enclosed around the wanted item in hand, she pulled it out then sparked the lighter, the small orange flame appearing but then she quickly made another portal appear as well with a flicker of her golden glowing wrist. Timing it just right, she lit the fuse to the barrels of gun powder that was taken from a storage room in the research center, and once the small flame started to trail away she jumped through the portal, it closing right in time for her to hear:

"_**GABRIELLA!**_"

"**What!**" she screamed back, placing her hands to her pointed ears and then cringed. "_I'm standing right here!_"

Kidd whirled around, a look of shock on his face, and it started to relax into something of relief, but then it quickly warped into anger and he grabbed the scruff of her cloak. "_What the fucking hell is wrong with!_" he roared, his hairless brows knotting together. "Do you have any idea how w—" he paused for a split second. "How stupid you were to run off like that!"

"I told Jacques where I was going!" she retorted, scowling at him while trying to pry his grip away from his cloak.

The bomber that was mentioned quickly inched away to hide behind a clump of crew members, using them as a shield from being called out.

"Here's a helpful hint," Kidd sneered. "Tell someone who can actually speak English!"

Gabriella growled, she really didn't like the tone that Kidd was using: captain or not, and she was about to snap back, but a smooth, calm voice replaced her sharp, bitter one.

"Excuse me, Captain Eustass," Calamity said in a loud tone to catch the attention the fighting couple as she walked out from the ship's belly, standing upright and perfectly healthy. "But I need to speak with my students privately."

George, after hearing the polite request, took one hand from holding back Mason, because the muscular mage was red with fury and was about to kill Kidd, and started to dig through the pockets of his black, fur laced cloak.

Kidd saw the movement and snapped: "Try that again pansy and I'll snap your neck."

George blinked his eyes blankly at the threat, but over all, halted all his movements and glanced over at Calamity.

"Just go to my office if you _must_ talk in private, just don't pull that shit again," Kidd scowled darkly in the direction of George.

Calamity smirked politely, the half a devil's face mask gleaming in the moonlight. "That is all I ask, Captain Eustass," then the magical being turned on the bare heel of her foot and started to walk back into the ship, waving a hand over her shoulder. "Come, my students, we have much to discuss."

* * *

><p>The plans were in set. Calamity made it simple since she said that the gem was drained of its power, which it shouldn't have. That's when George theorized that the marines found some way harness the energy of the gem, and Calamity could only grimly agree. It threw everyone off that the marines found someway to draw the power from the gem; it just…shouldn't have been possible. This just proved that the marines were actually a worthy enemy to look out for, and now that the gem was just a piece of jewelry, they needed to wait to for it to regain energy.<p>

It made Gabriella's blood boil, and she glared out at the dark horizon line of night. To blow off steam, she went outside to the deck since it was vacant of the other crew members. The quiet space was supposed to calm her, but every time her mind brought up the fact that the gem was worthless in its current state just made her mad, and her finger nails were starting to hurt from all the digging they were doing to the railing as she sat atop of it. She took a deep breathe, trying to calm down and listen to the silence of night, but all she heard was footsteps coming over to her.

She didn't turn around and she stiffened, her hands tightening on the railing to death. It was Kidd, and he was mad, she knew he was and he was _so_ going to push her into the water, she just knew he was going to.

Kidd stopped right behind her, and she waited of his hand to shove her off the railing, but his arm wrapped around her, slipping a hand under the thin fabric of her shirt so his palm pressed against the bare skin of her stomach. "They left," he said lowly, pulling her close until her back was up against his chest.

"Calamity is a teacher for more than just us four; she has a whole school to look out for. Plus she wanted to make sure that the gem was in a safe place," Gabriella explained, slowly losing the tension and relaxing into Kidd's body when she knew she wasn't going to go overboard.

"Hmm," Kidd grunted, his hand rubbing the skin of her stomach. "Why didn't Madeline and you go with them though?"

"Madeline, because she is Killer-crazy," she answered simply.

"Damn right she is," Kidd grunted, and she could just tell by the tone in his voice that he as rolling his eye. "But now, why did you stay?" he asked, his hand slowly moving up the length of her stomach.

"Because you wouldn't let me leave."

"You answered that dif—" he paused and so did his hand. "Quickly."

She smirked at the quick change in response. "Sounds like that wasn't the answer you wanted to hear," she replied coolly.

Kidd growled quietly, his nails digging lightly into her skin. "Not true," he denied.

"Like it wasn't true that you weren't worried about me either?" she mused, leaning back further into his chest and craned her neck back so she was looking up and the frustrated scowl of Kidd looking down at her.

"Just tell me your_ real_ answer, okay?" Kidd ground through his teeth.

"Is there a _real_ answer, or was what I said it?" she questioned with amusement.

"_Gabriella._"

"Okay, fine," she reached up and tapped his cheek sweetly, making his glare down in annoyance, but he didn't jerk away from the touch. "It's because I wanted to stay with you."

The frown on his face turned up right into a smirk. "That's better," his drew out slowly, the motionless hand under her shirt started to move once again, climbing higher and higher up her stomach until it was close to reaching her chest.

She rolled her eyes, turning back to look at the ocean and she scoffed: "Here I am, with a pirate that could get me killed."

Kidd's chest rumbled with a deep chuckle and he responded to her comment with: "No one is going to touch you because I'm going to be King of the Pirates."

Gabriella rolled her eyes again at his reply, but then her breathe hitched at the next thing he said.

"And you will be at my side as my Queen."

"Err…" she didn't know how to reply to that, and she could feel his heart skip a beat as the silence grew longer, and she had to say something or she might be going into the water. "Can I just be the girl to the sidelines, know you? I don't need the council finding out I'm the Queen of Pirates."

Kidd relaxed, his stiff muscles going lax when he was answered, and he leaned over close to her ear. "Well, I want everyone to know that you're mine," he whispered, starting to take the skin of her neck between his teeth.

Gabriella wiggled in his grasp, making him let go and she whirled around, hopping off the railing. Kidd opened his mouth to say something, but she placed her hands on his shoulders and jumped, wrapping her legs around his hips, she felt like she had be doing that a lot today, and then moved her hands to his cheeks, forcing him to look her in the eye. "If you want to make out, do it properly," she ordered.

Kidd blinked, he looked confused, baffled with what to do since she just ordered him, but with an order that he just couldn't refuse. He snaked his arms around her back, his hand going up the bit of loose fabric across her lower back while the other pressed against the bare skin of her shoulder blades, and he pulled her closer, about to kiss her then—

"Kidd."

Gabriella yelped as Kidd's nails sunk into the skin of her back, almost drawing blood when his name was called by the flat tone of Chamberlain.

"What?" Kidd snapped, whipped his head around to face the tall navigator behind him.

"Are you done with Gabriella?" Chamberlain questioned.

"_No_," Kidd barked, but then a hairless brow rose and he blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"Killer needs to see her."

Kidd snapped, his brows going down into a glare. "What the fuck?" he dropped Gabriella, her feet making the smallest tap as her heels touched the deck, but then he grabbed grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the railing and he started to storm to his first-mate's room. "Why the _fuck_ d—"

"**GET OUT!**"

Kidd stared at the state of his first-mate, Killer's hair still damp from his shower and he was only wearing a pair of black pants that he usually wore to bed.

His first-mate's face was boiling with a deep shade of red, darker than the shade of his hair, but Killer's was no longer red, not even the lightest shade could be seen because of one reason.

It was _pink. _

Kidd started to shake, and when he couldn't take it anymore, laughs erupted from his throat and he dropped Gabriella to hold his trembling ribs.

Killer scowled darkly at the laughing red head, but then towards the blank face of Chamberlain. "This is why I told you **not** to get Gabriella."

Chamberlain blinked. "Oh."

* * *

><p>It had to happen. Poor Killer.<p>

But there was Kidd and Gabriella fluffiness! _Oh the OoCness, how I love it!_

When Kidd said that Gabriella was going to be his queen, it was almost like an indirect proposal... o:

Bet if you told Kidd that he'd kill you. :D


	34. Chapter 33: My Old Enemy

I have been sick since Monday, so this chapter really got out slow. I feel that it isn't that good and is just filler/getting-ready-to-go-into-the-next-arc, you know? So, bear with me here.

Neeky-chan: Thank you for thinking the story is cute, and yes Killer really did have his ego busted.

UnperfectButLovingIt: Thanks for liking the last chapter, Gabriella and Kidd are a funny couple, completely different from Law and Ameria.

bRoKEnhEaRTscROsSovEr: Thank you for loving the story, and I feel proud to know that my story changed the way you see our favorite red headed captain.

Tigereye13: Mages like their privacy, that's all I can say. They also like raving, but that's another story. I seem to have a bad habit of forgetting about Bedros, he just comes and goes as he pleases. The little devil, literally. So, this chapter will answer your question on where he is.

Son of Whitebeard: I don't know why, but I made Killer the brains of the group; that's why he is the first-mate. As for the marriage thing, I can say it won't happen, you will see in this chapter.

Alpenwolf: Well, don't feel stupid for not knowing about the book, because I don't know about the tales of vesperia...so yeah...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 33: My Old Enemy.<p>

Killer didn't know how it happened, not a bit of his mind could wrap around the meaning of how in the world it even came to be this way for his poor hair. When Bedros had poured the red hair dye into his shampoo bottle weeks ago, Killer had smelled the potent stench, of course; it was kinda hard to miss in the first place, but he had shrugged it off as nothing. He just thought the cabin boy who was in charge of buying that sort of supplies just got something cheap to save a bit of beli and then after a few days the bottle's contents started to get a weird scent to it. Maybe. Killer was a man, he didn't know how shampoos worked, cheap ones or not.

Though this time he didn't smell anything, it was the same odorless stuff he always got so he used it subconsciously on his long, red tinted blonde locks, and when he got out of the show and looked into the slightly fogged up mirror, he saw it. He saw that he now had…_pink_ hair.

He thought that since the dye was washable and faded with every time he showered that maybe the dye started to blend with his light blonde hair and turned it..._pink_. If any color he thought it would have been orange since when the colors yellow and red were mixed that is the color that was supposed to come out, not…_pink_.

He didn't know how it work, how it happened, he knew no answers to the questions of who, what, when, how, and why, but he did know one thing: Kidd would _never_ let him live it done. _Ever_.

His red headed captain would not stop laughing since the moment his eyes locked onto the abnormal hair color for a man, and that ego busting moment only got even worse when Gabriella, who was sympathetic to the situation, helped him wash the rest of the dye out from over the bathtub's edge. He had so much hair, and even with two people scrubbing violently with six bottles of shampoo, a couple bars of soap and three hundred gallons of water, it still took three hours. And Kidd was laughing the whole time, and though Chamberlain showed no emotion to what was happening, Killer knew in the back of his mind that the navigator was laughing, maybe it was more of an amusement chuckle, but a laugh is a laugh.

After all the dye was gone and his hair was its normal color of blonde, Kidd finally stopped laughing wildly and simmered down to just entertained chuckles, saying that was something to keep in the books for a rainy day then the red head left with the navigator right behind him.

That made a stone drop in the masked blonde's gut and he turned to Gabriella, grabbing her shoulders and shook her violently, asking, though it was more of a demanding order, to somehow stop Kidd from ruining his reputation within the crew just because of a little bad hair day.

Killer really didn't need the crew taking his misfortune as a form of entertainment; it would hurt his ego even more than the fact that his hair was solid _pink_ for three hours. There was also that slight chance other rival crews could find out, not that Kidd would say something to someone like Trafalgar Law or X. Drake about his own first-mate's misfortunes because it would ruin him, too. The lower ranking members of the crew on the other hand, could be loud mouthed bastards when drunk. Killer learned that first hand when some grimy lower mates from the crew started to gossip about how he was afraid of Madeline to some local patrons awhile back. No one made it out of that one alive, and at least Kidd didn't care, or he just didn't notice; it didn't really matter to Killer which one, but it was all just ego busting just the same.

Killer may have been over reacting, but wouldn't any feared pirate who had their haired dyed…_pink_, feel the same way?

Gabriella, at first didn't know how she could even get back at Kidd for Killer, so she denied the request, but Killer said that she_ had_ to have some type of dirt on Kidd since they were _boyfriend_ and _girlfriend_. Gabriella commented on the fact that she didn't know they were on those terms, but Killer said it didn't matter and that he once again asked, ordered, her to do _something_.

Gabriella sighed, saying that she would try something, but if it didn't work then he couldn't blame her for not trying.

Killer nodded, it was better than nothing, and he let go of her shoulders, releasing the summoner mage to her plan to get back at Kidd.

* * *

><p>Later that night before Kidd retired to his quarters after having a lengthy talk with Chamberlain about who knows what, Gabriella caught him in the hall, strategically getting his back up against the wall as she leaned her chest up against his. Kidd didn't seem to notice that she was pretty much pinning him against a wall, trapping him, but then he did notice when she suggested that he shouldn't use Killer's hair problems as amusement for the long days on the sea.<p>

Kidd blinked, his facial expression completely blank, but then it turned into a scowl and he responded with a scoff, saying that he could do what he wanted, and that included making fun of Killer when he was given the chance because the fucking blonde pansy had done it to him time after time again.

Gabriella pressed her lips into a thin line; she didn't want to bring it to this, but this was the only way, so she put her plan B into action since plan A came out as a flop. She leaned up closer to him, going onto her tippy-toes and whispered into his ear that if he abused the already abused Killer even more than he has been, she would tell the whole crew that he _proposed_ to her.

Kidd stiffened, his muscles tensed to stone and he grabbed her shoulders, pushing her an arms length away with wide eyes, asking what the _fuck_ she meant.

She simply smirked, replying with this: "_One thing has to happen for a King to make a girl his Queen._"

Kidd stared at her dumbfounded, his jaw going slack as her words started to process through his mind, and that was when Gabriella decided to duck out of his view, scurrying away down the hall and to her room because once she was inside the space she shared with Madeline and the door was closed, she heard Kidd roar bloody murder at the top of his lungs: "_**WHAT THE FUCK!**_"

So, let's just say Killer's pink hair was never talked about after that, but Kidd avoided Gabriella after that, too.

Now, Gabriella could be an understanding person, and she knew that she probably embarrassed Kidd to the point were his face turned the same shade as his hair. So, she left him alone for the next couple of days so he could have some peace, but what was just supposed to be just two maybe three days, turned into two weeks of him side stepping a room just so he wouldn't see her. That started to really annoy her. She tried to confront him many, many times about whether it would be in his office or his room so they could speak in private, but there was always an excuse for him to leave.

Like this: "_I have to talk to Chamberlain._"

And this: _"I need to tell something to Killer._"

And of course this: "_I need to get beer._"

It made Gabriella's blood boil with irritation that he was being a _coward_ and wouldn't _man_ _up_ and talk to her, and she would have told him that, but he always _ran away_ before she could even get two words out. Then finally, at the end of the two weeks did she get to stand next to Kidd like any civil, as civil as a person like Kidd could be, couple would. Though when she slipped under his arm to curl up against the side of his fur coat to keep away from the harsh winds of the winter island they docked at, the limb was as limp as a noodle as Kidd spoke with his navigator and he only said one thing.

"_One month!_" Kidd exclaimed, staring at Chamberlain wide eyed.

The tall navigator just nodded his head, confirming the fact that the log post would take exactly one month to reset.

Kidd groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose with frustration and he stalked away to the local bar, giving Gabriella a complete cold shoulder, literally too since a harsh wind lashed out at the thin fabric of her cloak at her shoulders.

Gabriella shivered, rubbing her arms to cast away the cold and then she huffed, placing her hands on her hips as she watched Kidd walk away into the distance. She was getting tired of following him around to try and talk, even if it didn't seem like he was walking away to avoid her, but it was an annoying situation overall since he just left her out in the cold, literally.

So, she decided that two could play at this 'game' and she grabbed Madeline, before she could chase after Killer and abuse the poor man, by the wrist, dragging her along to catch up with Chamberlain who was supervising the crew unloading with the second-mate Blaze, but Bedros for some reason liked to call him Heat because of ship fight when the stone devil told him to '_turn-up-the-**heat**_' and so the new nick-name stuck after that.

Oh, and speaking of the stone devil, he was currently sulking because Calamity wouldn't let him go back with her, so he stayed in the crews quarters.

But anyway, back to why Gabriella was dragging Madeline over to Chamberlain, which was to ask for money for clothes that would be appropriate for the chilling winter weather since both she and Madeline needed to get some warmer clothes.

Chamberlain easily handed over the money, finding the reason to be understandable and then the two summoner mages were underway to the closest clothing store to spurge on warm winter gear, and Gabriella had a feeling that shopping would really make her feel better.

* * *

><p>The two summoner mages walked along the vacant snowy streets, the street lights glowing a bright yellow in the darkness of night that gave the fresh snow a golden tint. Gabriella placed her gloved hands over her mouth, the papery sound of the bags resting in the crook of her elbow shifting when her arms moved and she blew warm breathe to heat her frigid fingers. They had spent a few hours just milling around the store, which translated to six hours of just looking at clothing racks and trying things on. It couldn't be helped though, after all the crap with Kidd avoiding her, it was a good stress reliever just because of one little phrase: girls love to shop.<p>

Gabriella along with Madeline were no exception to this rule and they loved to shop with a passion, especially for shoes. Shoes were a girl's best friend. Diamonds? Forget them, plus the fact that diamonds had negative side effects on summoner mages just proved the fact that shoes were everything. Sadly, the two summoner mages didn't need shoes, what they needed were gloves, hats, coats, and of course pants since both mages wore shorts. It was hard to choose anything from all the choices they had since there were so many, and also because they had a limited amount of beli, so they had to pick out something that was cheap, but also looked good. Fashion was another important thing to any big shopper.

Madeline was simple with her choices and just got a black thick patted coat, but it still looked rather classy with the large square pattern stitched with black thread to give the coat an appealing physical appearance, though she got it on sale at a bargain price. The coat was also long, cutting off just above the thin summoner mage's knee and at the hem of her coat was the beginning of the pair of black baggy snow pants she had gotten. Gabriella wondered why her peer got extremely thick winter gear, but the thought of Madeline trying to hide her skinniness came to mind; the baggy clothes are, the more people think that there is actually fat to fill it up rather than skin and bones along with empty space. Madeline of course denied it when questioned on the subject, but Gabriella thought that maybe her peer was doing it subconsciously.

Gabriella just shrugged it off, though, shifting all her bags into one hand and then she shoved her other hand into the pocket of her new coat, which was actually a little bit more of an eye sore compared to Madeline's. She got fluffy, purple fur coat that cut off short, letting the leather belt around her hips show and that also held up the pair of tight black pants she had gotten. It felt weird to wear pants when she always wore shorts, but the jean fabric hugged the curves of her legs nicely, and it felt almost like a second skin rather than a pair of pants.

It was a good pair of pants, but so were all hers and her peer's purchases because when all the winter gear was bought, both summoner mages saw that they still had a heaping amount of beli left: Chamberlain must have known that girls really loved to shop, or it was just a universal thing that all men knew. So, shoes were back on the top of the list and they were surprised to see all the options they had for shoes. They got boots, sandals, flats, and even some nice pumps with heels that could be a legal weapon to any man's foot. Other things they got were dresses, Gabriella hadn't wore a dress in years, and they pretty much bought every article of clothing on sale besides bathing suits, since that was the only thing the store didn't sell.

Once all their purchases were packed into bags, they two summoner mages had left the store, and it was a quiet walk, but then the snow crunching sound of boots breaking the powdery surface in the distance made them look up to see the Kidd and his group of Killer, Chamberlain, Blaze renamed Heat, and then Wire, the towering muscular man that always carried a pick-fork, were walking towards them.

"Where the fuck have you two been?" Kidd demanded, scowling darkly as he stalked over.

Gabriella held up her arm load of bags. "Shopping," she simply replied.

Kidd's narrow eyes opened wide, staring at all the bags in her hands and asked: "How much did you spend?"

"The exact amount Chamberlain gave us," Madeline cut in.

If Chamberlain felt that he was thrown under the bus, then he did one hell of a job of hiding it.

Kidd turned around, staring at Chamberlain. "How much money did you give them?"

Chamberlain just shrugged.

Kidd groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose; he had a reason for coming out here, and it sure didn't have to do with a shopping spree the summoner mages went on. No, it had nothing to do with that, but rather—

"Well, well, well," a voice drew out through the night, making the Kidd Pirate's turn away from the clothes-slash-money situation and to the small pirate group that snuck up on them. "If it isn't Eustass Kidd, my old enemy."

That made Kidd look up, turning to see somewhat notably man surrounded by other unimportant men under the glow of a streetlight. The somewhat notably man was tall, lean and extremely tanned, a skin tone that Kidd hadn't see since he was on his home island in the South Blue. The intense chocolate sun-kissed skin that almost every person, but for his family, had, and the somewhat notably man liked to show it off with his lack of a shirt and he just showcased it with the pure white trench coat over his shoulder to shield him from the cold of the island. Kidd's hairless brow rose with interest as he continued to inspect the obvious South Blue native, finding it weird that the man's attire vaguely looked like his, though on a less outrageous scale.

Speaking of vaguely, the man looked vaguely familiar, like he knew him from the past or something, but it wasn't enough. "Who the fuck are you?"

* * *

><p>Not my best chapter, I know. It was hard to focus when I was sick, but at least I was able to get something out, right?<p>

This probably had a lot of OoC from Killer and Kidd, but you should know by now that this isn't a surprise. Also, I don't know if you people know, but Oda came out with names for zombie man and pitch-fork dude, which is Heat and Wire. I was close with Heat since I nick-named him Blaze, but Heat still is kinda a weird name...so I just changed the nick-name thanks to Bedros.

The little devil, he is the best as making nick-names. Abbie, Maddie, what's next? Killer as Pinkie? I think if that happened Bedros would really die.


	35. Chapter 34: The Challenge

I don't know if I like this arc. It's not that it's bad or anything, I just haven't gotten into it yet, but it still needs to be done because the stuff that happens in it is actually important for the plot. So, gotta do what I gotta do.

bRoKEnhEaRTsRosSovEr: Thanks for thinking that the chapter was awesome, and the porn thing in _Bones_ is pretty funny...lol...

Alpenwolf: Pinkie does sound like a nick-name for Bonny, but Killer could have had it too. Sharing is caring. :D

Neeky-chan: Bedros is as luck as hell, there were _so_ many times where he should have died, but didn't. The lucky bastard.

Tigereye13: Oda comes up with some really wacky names, but hey, that means I can come up with weird wacky names that will fit and not sound so weird. Like Crazy Sane, that name fits well into the world of One Piece, doesn't it?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 34: The Challenge.<p>

The man slapped his forehead, his hand coming down from the goggles perched on his brow to keep his shaggy blonde hair in check and he groaned in annoyance, running his hand along his face, pulling the skin to oblong the irritated expression. "Does the name Token ring a bell?" he mumbled the question to the confused red head.

The Kidd Pirate group looked at their captain in anticipation expect for Killer and Chamberlain who actually looked like they knew this other pirate captain, which confused everyone else even more about the man their captain supposedly knew.

Though Kidd would seem to disagree with what his crew must have thought. He blinked, staring at the man with a blank look in his eyes, his mind turning the gears in his head, a little something like this: _calculating,_ _calculating…buzz…calculating, calculating…buzz...ding!_ "Nope," Kidd finally answered.

The man slapped his forehead again.

"Really, Kidd?" Killer said flatly, eyeing the red head. "_Really?_"

Kidd turned towards his first-mate. "You know this bastard?" he asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of the man named Token that he '_supposedly_' knew.

Token slapped his forehead for a third time.

It was Chamberlain's turn to speak up and he simply said: "He lived next door to you, Kidd," the navigator elaborated. "You know, back at home."

Kidd blinked at his navigator, staring at Chamberlain with a blank look in his eyes, his mind turning the gears in his head once again, a little something like this: _calculating…buzz…calculating, calculating…buzz...ding!_ "Oh!" the light bulb went off within the red head's memory. "I remember you now."

"_About fuckin' time!_" Token exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air for a hallelujah moment.

"You were that fuckin' blonde pussy that was annoying as fuck."

"_Hey!_" Token snapped, scowling darkly at the grinning red head.

"Man, I hated your guts," Kidd continued, remembering how much he loved to taunt the blonde until his face turned crimson red with either rage or embarrassment. "And I still hate you."

"The feeling is mutual," Token replied dryly. "This is one of the reasons why I made you my enemy, my rival for life."

Kidd's hairless brow rose with interest. "One? What's the other reasons?"

Token looked at Kidd dumbfounded, like the red head was completely crazy for not knowing the reason of why he made someone like Kidd his personal rival for life. "_Because you stole April from me!_"

Madeline gasped, placing a hand over her mouth while saying '_ooh~_' and looking between Gabriella and Kidd repeatedly.

Gabriella stared at her peer, inching away from Madeline with an expression that said: _do-I-know-you?_

The men easily ignored the thin summoner mage's out burst, and focused on Kidd who simply said:

"Who the fuck is that?"

Token's face flew into red rage and he screamed: "_How can you say that! She worked for you fucking mom!_"

Kidd's grin of amusement dropped to a frown, Token's words hitting a nerve and he scowled at the blonde. "Why the fuck are you bugging me anyway?" he snapped, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

Token was still seething with rage because the red head didn't remember the woman called April that Kidd supposedly '_stolen_' from him, but a few quick breathes in and out helped him calm down until his red colored cheeks returned back to their normal tanned tone, and then he ran a hand through his shaggy blonde locks with a sigh. "I was going to ask if you were competing in The Challenge," Token answered.

Kidd looked at the blonde with interest, his scowling brows un-furrowing into something that showed he was curious about the topic. "What challenge?"

Token rolled his eyes, placing his hands on his hips and scoffed in annoyance. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

Kidd's interest simmered down into nothing and was replaced by fury. "If you're so smart then you should know that we just got here, moron," he barked, scowling at the blonde across the way.

Token returned the scowl, but he didn't comment on the insult and he simply said: "You'll see soon enough," and no sooner did the blonde say the words, something started to happen.

In the distance, the ringing of a giant bell tolled, its deep note carrying easily through the vacant streets to wake all from their midnight slumber. The bell continued to sing its low pitched note, and the Kidd pirates looked around in confusion as the doors of inns opened wide to flood the white snow with yellow light. Then the black outlines of men wearing thick winter coats appeared in the yellow rectangles across the ground and then the owners of the shadows stepped out into the winter night, pouring out by the dozen as the bell rang over with a deep, groaning _ding-dong_.

Kidd watched as the men filtered by him like a sea of scruffy brown coats covered in grim, but then his eyes locked onto the pure white coat of Token as the blonde led his small group of men away and closer to the middle of town. Kidd glanced over his shoulder, his eyes scanning over to make sure that everyone was still with him, and with the mental head count in check, he jerked his head, implying the order to follow the other pirate men shuffling through the snow.

The small group of Kidd Pirates went along with the currant of pirates, and they all inspected the other men to see if there were any notable rivals in the mix, and Kidd actually spotted one out of the mess, and it wasn't Token. Oddly enough, it was Basil Hawkins.

The rival pirate captain that belonged to the eleven supernovas was sitting on a crate to the side by an inn that was located in the square of the city, and Hawkins was shuffling his cards with a distant look in his emotionless eyes, probably disinterested with the commotion that was going on, but he still had to be a little on the curious side since the pirate captain was bundled up in a white fur coat and was actually sitting outside.

Kidd hadn't seen the rival pirate captain since that little run in they had way back, almost a year ago, maybe more; Kidd really didn't pay attention to that. Hawkins was pretty pissed off that day, though the man didn't show his emotions much, Kidd could tell that Hawkins was fuming with rage because he killed two of his men. Kidd didn't know why Hawkins would fuss over two measly men like that, but whatever; he got to explode that tavern that day.

Ah, good times, good times.

Maybe Kidd would be able to fight it out with the rival pirate captain on this island again, though, it didn't seem like Hawkins paid any attention to him, but rather the group of older looking men on a platform in the middle of the square.

The men looked worn, tired from work either in the labor yards or at sea, but Kidd had a feeling that it was the sea because of the deep tans the men had on their wrinkly faces, and it was a tan that only the sun could give out on the sea. It may have been weird logic, but it was something his grandfather would tell him when he was young, and the man was a former pirate himself, so Kidd believed he knew what he was talking about.

Then the screeching of static forced Kidd away from his inner thoughts and he focused back on looking at the men on the platform, seeing that one man had stepped forward and pulled out a den-den mushi microphone from his pocket.

The old man coughed, his butchered voice traveling across the sea of pirates and he welcomed them.

There was a mummer of confusion that swept over some groups in the crowd as they questioned each other, even the Kidd Pirates looked at each other with expressions that said: _what-the-fuck?_ Last time they checked, pirates really weren't welcomed anywhere, but in hell.

The old man seemed to be on top of that question though, like he knew it was coming, and he chuckled into the den-den mushi microphone, saying that he was a retired pirate, so of course he would welcome other pirates to his home, though not all pirates, and that was when his face went grave.

He went on to rant about the newer generation of pirates, the ones that just started out because of Gold Rogers challenge years ago, and he said that there were a select few that were a disgrace to the name of piracy because all they did was cause war, and they were labeled the worst generation.

There was another mummer that swept over the crowd, older pirate crews agreeing with the old man on his opinion while other younger crews stood silent, shifting awkwardly on their feet, feeling like they were throw under the bus.

Kidd stood firm though, and he was pretty damn sure that old man was talking about him and probably Hawkins, too since they both left quite a nasty trail of blood behind them. He glanced at his rival, seeing that Hawkins had made direct eye contact with him now, and Kidd gave him a devilish grin and he could have sworn that Hawkins had a ghost of a smile on his lips, but is was too far away from Kidd to tell for sure.

Once the old man was done with his rant, he got back on track and went on with the reason why he was speaking to them this night. It was something he did every night because he wanted to make sure that all the pirate crews coming in knew the dangers of the place that hosted The Challenge. He then pointed to a fortress perched high on a mountain's peak behind the city and said that his challenge was one that he was too old to try and accomplish, so he is handing it down to the generations below him, no matter if he hated them or not, so that the younger pirate crews could have a chance to get the amazing treasure hidden within the stone palace.

A buzz zoomed from pirate to pirate, a greedy glaze in each man's eyes and they side glanced others around them, looking ready to fight each other to get to the fortress just because of one little word, but then the screech of static stopped everyone in their tracks, forcing hands to ears to nurse the pain away.

The old man barked at them to slow down because they would be killed if they went in like crazy animals, but then a random pirate spoke up from the crowd, saying how the old man knew if he hadn't been there. The old man smirked widely at the question, chuckling darkly into the den-den mushi microphone and then he looked over his shoulder at one of the men behind him holding a small, blood stained sack. The old man jerked his head to the side, telling the tall man to step forward.

The tall man that stepped forward, he said nothing but opened the sack and reached his hand in, pulling out the bloody remains of a head by the hair.

The crowds looked at the remains like it was nothing, some pirates even yawned. A decapitated head was nothing, but what the old man said next put them on the edge. He said that this was the one thousand sixty-third head that was taken from the 'usual' spot this week, and that this was going to be them if they even tried to go in until the night of the next full moon. He told them he didn't know why it was that night, he suggested it was a force that controlled it, but he didn't know for sure; it was the way it was and they had two weeks to prepare of hell because that was where they were going.

That caused the pirates to look a little anxious, some with nervousness, others with excitement, and Kidd so happened to be on the excited side, but he _so_ did **not** what to wait.

Lucky for Kidd, when he had a meeting with Killer after they got back to the inn and they talked about trying to find a way to get into the fortress, his first-mate had a plan, which was that Gabriella use her magic to teleport to different places. The summoner mage had used it before when they met months ago on the small island, so Killer suggested that Kidd ask her to use magic just this once even though she usually didn't like to use it for personal reasons. Kidd agreed to that, turning on his heel to look for his summoner mage, but then he turned back and asked about Madeline, since it was more likely that the thin summoner mage would agree, especially if Killer asked.

Killer pushed the idea aside and then literally pushed Kidd in the direction of the summoner mages room.

Kidd grumbled, cursing the masked blonde under his breathe as he stormed down the hall to the room and then, feeling too miffed to actually use the doorknob, he kicked it open, making both summoner mages yelp in surprise when the door slammed into the wall and also at the sudden dark presence walking into their room, then Gabriella squealed when Kidd heaved her up onto his shoulder and then left the room.

His summoner mage was now pissed and pounded her fists into his back, demanding that he put her down this instance, but that was an order, so Kidd easily ignored her command and continued his stroll to his room. Now taking the time to use the doorknob, Kidd realized that he probably just fucked up his chances of getting Gabriella to agree to use her magic. He could order her, hell he could scream at her all day to use her magic, but he couldn't force her. She was as stubborn as an ass when she was mad, but if there was a way to force a mage to use magic, he would probably use it. Maybe; he would probably have a bitchy mage after that, and he really didn't like dealing with a bitchy mage. It sucked.

So, he had to think of a new plan to calm down his summoner mage _and_ get her to agree to use her magic to get them in and out of the fortress, and Kidd had the prefect idea in mind.

He closed the open door with the back of his boot so that it clicked shut, then he walked over to his bed and then dropped his load.

Gabriella squealed again when she landed on the blankets, her face blooming red with either embarrassment or rage, Kidd didn't know.

He figured it was in rage because she went into a rant after that, shooting up from the bed and stood up almost chest to chest with him and she screamed at him, poking him in the chest to emphasis her point on how much of a brute he was. But he shrugged that off, just like he shrugged off his coat; the thick fur fell to the floor behind with a thump, bits of the copper and gold in the fabric clicking against the wood boards as well. Kidd just stared at her for a moment, taking in her scowling stance: hand on her hip, her fingers curled into a tight ball, and her chest was puffed out, trying to give her smaller form compared to his look bigger, but really all it did was make her tits look bigger, not that Kidd was complaining, but the constant jab to his chest was starting to get annoying.

His hand locked around hers, pulling it away and she lit up more, saying that this was like man-handling, and truth be told, Kidd tuned her out after that and all he wanted to do was shut her up, and there was only one way to do that: he kissed her.

She gasped against his lips, her body coming stiff with shock at the sudden kiss, but then she lost the tension and almost relaxed instantly. He switched his grip, snaking an arm around her back and released his hold on her hand so his fingers could tangle themselves into her ginger hair. His summoner mage wrapped her arms around his neck and she went up onto her tippy-toes, trying to deepen the kiss as her tongue ran along his lower lip.

It was a good sign that she was relaxing, it meant that she was calming down, but he still had something important to do, so he pulled away for a brief moment so that he could get his request in.

"I have something I need to ask you," he said, resting his forehead against hers.

She blinked at him, panting slightly from being out of breath after the kiss stopped short, and she gently questioned: "What is it?"

"I need you to use your magic to get into the fortress," he answered, tugging a loose strand of ginger hair behind her pointed ears. "Killer said you can use portals to teleport to different places."

She stared at him blankly, her eyes going a bit wider and it caused Kidd to look at her oddly. He was about to ask what was wrong, but her face warped into rage, turning a beet red and her brow furrowing together. "_You ass!_" she screeched, shoving her palms to his chest and pushed him away then she screamed at the top of her lungs: "_You are just a fucking bastard!_" and she darted from his embrace.

Kidd watched her retreating back and started to shout: "_What the—_"

**Slam** went the door.

"—fuck…" Kidd ended with a mumble, staring at the rattling door as bits of dust feel down from the low rafters above.

God damnit, what did he do now?

* * *

><p>Geez, Kidd is not having a good day is he? He should know what he did was wrong, maybe he will see after a bit of thinking.<p>

Also, I was looking at the chapter line for _Bones_ and _His Heir_, and I noticed that that currant arc for _His Heir_ is going longer than I thought. I have been adding more chapters to _His Heir_ over the past couple of weeks, so now I have to squeeze in chapters between updates of the two stories. So, if in the upcoming weeks, if you see a random update of _His Heir_, don't be alarmed, it's just to keep the plots going on the same track. Just wanted to give you all a head's up.


	36. Chapter 35: Two weeks of Torture

Alpenwolf: The newest chapters of One Piece are really helping me with ideas (thank God).

Son of Whitebeard: Kidd is having relationship issues and Chamberlain is a bit of a gentleman character. Ironic since he is a member of Kidd's crew, but also one of Kidd's childhood friends.

Neeky-chan: Well, I'm starting to get in the roll of this arc now, so it's coming out better. :D

Tigereye13: Killer should just ask Madeline, but I doubt he will. Ever.

Dislcaimer: I do not own One Piece, but OCs and plot are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 35: Two Weeks of Torture.<p>

_Fuck._

That was the only thing going through Kidd's head for two long, torturous weeks: _fuckity fuck-fuck_.

It was like a chant, the pounding in his head keeping a steady beat to the rhythm that drove him crazy to the point where he wanted to just blow up the whole island and sift through the ashes to find what was left of the treasure perched high on the mountain that over looked the snowy city day and night.

Now, why did Kidd feel this way so much? Obviously because he royal screwed up; hand him a crown because he just became king, King of the Screw ups which was a title he did _not_ like to have. But that was the title he won for using his summoner mage's feelings to get what he wanted, or at least he tried since all he got was a pissed off mage after that.

In the past, a thing like _this_ wouldn't have affected him at all, not even a dent to his outer shell, but now it did; striking him right to the soul and it actually pissed him off. Something like _this_ did _not_ happen to him, Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd did _not_ feel like a screw up because he was asking his crew member to use their skills to help the crew as a whole get ahead of the competition.

That brought Kidd to go through a set of stages, the first being rage, naturally.

He was beyond _furious_ with his summoner mage and he directed _all_ his rage at her like she was a target and his fury was bullet, which caused full out war between them when he hit the bull eyes. They had screaming matches, shrieking at each other to the point where probably the whole city knew that he, Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd, was extremely miffed at his crew member, Roland Gabriella.

Though most people probably didn't know her since she didn't have a bounty poster, but that wasn't the point, the point was, they as a couple, were going through a bump in their relationship. A _big_ bump that involved him roaring at her at the top of his lungs that she needed to suck up her pride and help the crew with getting a head start and then she would screech back in response, screaming that she didn't want to do anything that involved using her magic when she didn't need to _and_ he needed to respect that.

Then Kidd would feel a vein bulge on his forehead when she said that, making it sound like an _order_ and he retorted something nasty back and then Gabriella would counter with something just as nasty, which dragged the fight on and on until their voices were hoarse. That was the point where Gabriella would leave, throwing her hands up in the air with a weak scoff, but a deadly scowl and she would storm off to her room, slamming her door shut and Kidd would do the same. He would storm off, but instead of going to his room, he stalked into the darkness of night to a vacant alleyway and stay there, staking out until a person came along and he shot them down with his revolver or sometimes when he was really pissed, he would strangle the breath right out of the poor sap.

This was like a cycle, the couple meeting up again at night since they stored their energy for the brawl that would start when the sun went down, but then something snapped him out of his stage of rage, brutally; as in a brutal slap to the face.

Kidd was lucky that they were in the privacy of his room when her hand whipped out, smacking her palm harshly against his cheek when he said probably the worst thing ever, and he still cringed when he thought about what he said.

"_You are being such a bitch for not even trying to help the crew with something so little when you put us through hell with getting your stupid gem. We didn't need to go into that stupid marine vermin laced place because no one got anything out of that, not even a decent bounty raise._"

Her rage was vivid after that, her face turning red in fury and she began to tremble violently, a dark aura swimming around her person and that's when the slap came into play.

Kidd's ears ringed, the smack leaving a terrible sound that blended in with the door slamming behind in the background as she left, but he didn't move, he didn't chase after her for disrespecting him since he was her captain. No, he didn't do that because his mind finally grasped what he did and it made him think of only one thing: _fuck_.

That was when he went into the stage of guilt. He actually felt bad for treating her like that; sure she was a bitch at times, annoying the fuck out of him, but he never thought he would go _this_ low, even for him, but then something hit him, ending the guilt stage and went straight to embarrassment.

He could _not _believe he felt _guilty_ for something he did, he never felt guilty about anything before. Maybe there was one time or two, but he didn't remember them, but _this_ was something he would remember for a _long_ time. It was just so…_ego busting_, crushing his reputation to little bite-size pieces that made him avoid his summoner mage. It wasn't hard though since she did the exact same thing, but she did it out of rage whereas he did it in embarrassment.

She was never at the inn and he knew that because that is where he always was, but then he started to leave the embarrassment stage, though… it quickly went to a new stage, one that he didn't think would come: jealously.

Kidd decided that he needed to do something about this…_issue_ him and his summoner mage were having; they couldn't just keep on avoiding each other, they needed to smooth out this bump so they could move on. He would admit, though only inside his mind, that he…_missed_ her. So, he went out, leaving his domain inside the inn and went on to search the city, knowing that she was hanging out at the many stores around the island, according to Madeline.

Kidd glanced through the windows of the shops he passed by, peering through the large panes of glass, seeing posters of products about keeping warm, but also things that were probably used as a scam for The Challenge. _This will help with this, this will help you with that_, were some of the things that were on the countless posters he walked by, and it was starting to annoy him. He stopped focusing on the posters, no matter how hard it was because they were big and flashy that drew his eye, but then his eyes locked onto a head of ginger hair with that little tint of orange that glared in the light.

Kidd stepped backwards looking through the window again just to make sure it was her, but all he saw were baked goods that ranged from breads to cakes all sitting on shelves. He grimaced, _for the love of…_

This was like a memory, but then also like a nightmare. The fresh smell of bread reminded him of home and he would admit he liked the scent of bread cooking in the oven then resting on the windowsill, but that wasn't the nightmare. The nightmare was who owned the bakery back at his little island home: it was his mother.

That's right, the deadly and feared Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd's mother owned a bakery. It was pretty bad blow to his ego, but hey, at least his mother wasn't the average bakery owner. She was violent,_ extremely_ violent. She had a shorter fuse compared to Kidd, which was saying something since his fuse was about the size of a peanut. She would snap at every wrong move, which would scare everyone, even Kidd was a little wary, but that was only for nine months when her bitchiness reached to a whole new level that he could not handle. Though, his mother is where he got his violent side from, and his red hair, everything else was from his father, who was just an average fish monger, working along side his father, Kidd's grandfather, that caught the fish. Kidd always wondered why his father didn't become a pirate since almost all the Eustass men began infamous pirates. Kidd figured it was because of his mother since she wore the pants in the relationship.

A small dinging of a bell drew him away from his inner thoughts and he shook his head, clearing his mind. He had to talk to Gabriella, but then he looked back up at the sign that just screamed _girly_ and he knew he needed to push it aside and walk in since he saw his summoner mage's ginger hair pass by once more.

…

Okay, so Kidd would wait for his summoner mage to come outside instead. He turned on the heel of his boot, walking over to a building on the other side of the street and leaned against the red brick wall. He folded his arms over his chest and he watched the window of the bakery, seeing the small glimpses of his summoner mage whenever she would pass by the glass, but then his eyes locked onto something that should _not_ be there walking along side her: a blonde, tanned man dressed in a white coat.

A vein bulged on his forehead, his face started to glow dark red and he growled, his upper lip curling up, making it twitch. The thought of walking into the girly bakery was wiped clean from his conscious and he stormed into the store, breaking that little bell above the door so it clattered against the floor with a _click, click, click_ as he stomped over to where _his_ summoner mage was standing next to Token.

"What the _fuck_ do you think _you_ are doing?" Kidd seethed, stream pouring from his ears as he watched Token touch _his_ summoner mage's shoulder like his hand belonged on _his_, Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd's, property.

"What?" Token asked mockingly, looking at him innocently, but his eyes said something else: smugness. "I'm just making a friendly acquaintance with this _lovely_ lady, no harm there, right?" he continued, his brow rising with curiosity, squeezing the shoulder his hand was under gently.

Kidd didn't respond and remained silent, scowling at the blonde then stepped forward closer to Gabriella, pushing Token roughly away from his summoner's presence so the hand was removed from her shoulder. Then Kidd hooked an arm around her hip, pulling her close to his side so he felt the warmth of her person swarm his bare skin, the thought that she was probably still mad at him never coming to mind since it felt so…_nice_ to have her by his side again. "_Fuck off_," Kidd snarled, his hand subconsciously slipping under the hem of her coat and shirt until his fingers brushed against her soft skin.

Gabriella wiggled in his grasp, mumbling softly in an emotionless tone: "Let go."

Kidd ignored the gentle order that he really couldn't call one because of the tone it was said in.

Token chuckled, shaking his head to tousle his golden locks. "I think she doesn't want to be next to you right now," he commented, forcing another vein to pulse against the skin of Kidd's forehead. "So, it should be _you_ that fucks off since _you_ treat her like shit, calling her a bitch? How cruel," the blonde tsked, wagging a finger scoldingly in the direction of the red head.

Kidd scowled darkly, his black painted fingers nails digging into his summoner mage's hip, clawing her skin to make her hiss in pain, struggling more to get away from him, but Kidd held her firmly to his side. He wasn't about to let her go, _never_ again.

"See," Token motioned to the cringing summoner mage trying to pry Kidd's hand away. "You hurt her; that is so cruel! You don't seem to be a very good boyfriend, now Kidd," he smirked as the look of rage on Kidd's face twisted to shock because of the term boyfriend being used.

Seriously, when did they come to girlfriend and boyfriend terms again?

"She deserves to be with someone who will treat her well," Token's annoying voice brought Kidd back to his scowl when he saw the smirking face widen ten-fold on the blonde's lips. "Like me, for instances; _I _know how to treat a woman right, unlike you, Kidd," he declared smugly, lifting his chin up high in the air.

Kidd whipped out his revolver from the holder strapped across his chest, pulling the trigger as fast as he could and with full intentions of killing the blonde; why didn't he do this sooner?

But Token was just as fast Kidd, maybe faster since he dodged the bullet just by tilting his head to the side with a sigh. The blonde tsked in disappointment at the red head again, shaking his head with a growing smirk. "There are better ways to do this, you know."

Kidd was silent and completely refused to talk to the blonde, keeping the barrel of his revolver pointed at Token's forehead, ready to take his next shot when the blonde was distracted at the right moment.

Token sighed again and rolled his eyes. "Let me explain what I mean since you're giving me a cold shoulder. So, what I mean is, we don't have to do a duel, but rather something like a bet, per say," Token answered, the smirk returning back to his lips. "How does that sound, hmm? A little bet to be added to The Challenge's treasure: first man to get the treasure gets the sweet lady," he proposed triumphantly, placing his hands on his hips.

Kidd's scowl faded away as his brow rose with slight interest at the idea. It really wasn't a bet though since he knew he would win; Kidd did not lose, so he would agree to his little 'bet'. Plus, didn't girls like this kind of stuff? Kidd opened his mouth to respond, agreeing to the added twist to The Challenge, but then the rage of Gabriella came forth violently and just like a football player bunting a ball, her foot rammed into the place where the sun don't shine between Token's legs, _hard_, _**extremely**__ hard_.

The blonde's face paled to the lightest shade of white possible in the light spectrum and his hands flew to his crotch on an instinct. He wheezed like a dying man choking on his own air, leaning over in a failed attempt to ease the pain since the unbalanced weight of his body caused him to tumble forward in a heap, crashing to the floor with a dull _thud_.

Kidd's lips quickly pressed shut tightly and he glanced over at his summoner mage nervously: of course his summer mage wouldn't like shit like _that_, he should have known this just because of how she acts towards, like, _everything_.

Gabriella scoffed, her hand tossing a lock of her ginger hair over her shoulder and she said flatly: "_I am no trophy_," and she pushed away from Kidd's limp grasp then promptly walked away and out of the store.

Kidd's head followed her, his eyes scanning her every movement and he was actually hesitant to follow after her; he knew the pain of when _her_ foot kicked a man's jewel. Though, in the end he did go after her because he had a feeling that her rage was no longer being aimed in his direction anymore. He only knew that because he didn't get a kick to the cock; that really meant something.

Maybe the two weeks of torture were over and the bump was smooth, he could only hope so…

* * *

><p>A little into Kidd's past, I thought it would be funny. Can you just image if Kidd didn't become a pirate? Kidd the bakery? Kidd the fish seller? I can't see either, so thank goodness he became a pirate.<p> 


	37. Chapter 36: The Challenge Begins

The chapter was late because Bones was late this week, so sorry about that, but this chapter is longer than normal(?).

Neeky-chan: Happy belated Birthday! And yes, I would hate to be in the middle of a 'trophy' argument, and so does Gabriella, as you can see.

Alpenwolf: I think you're right, Kidd couldn't sell a fish. I think Kidd couldn't sell anything, but for one thing: his body to rabid fangirls and that's it. :D

Son of Whitebeard: I would probably go berserk too if I had Kidd's mom...

And guess what guys, more OOCness! Though, you people are probably used to this by now, lol... I don't know if that's a good thing or not...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 36: The Challenge Begins.<p>

Kidd had to thank Token for his stupidity because that is what got him out of the dog house. Though…not entirely yet; Gabriella still gave him a cold shoulder, but it wasn't out of rage it was more of a…phase thing; like she was mad so it just stuck with her until something happened to snap her out of it. The best example was when she was mad at him but then good-old Token called her a trophy and all that boiled rage was released in one fatal blow to the crotch. Now she was going through the after stages of rage, which meant Kidd had to do the right thing to get her happy again because he would admit he missed having her around…

He felt stupid for admitting it, but it was true. Just like it was true that Gabriella was his trophy; weren't some women called trophy wives? Well, his summoner mage was that, minus the wife part of course, and obviously he would never call her that out loud; he saw what would happen and he also knew how it felt…he _never_ wanted to go through _that_ again.

God, his dick felt numb just thinking about it.

He shook it off, shaking his shoulders violently to cast away the feeling as he walked across the floor of the inn to his summoner mage.

She was sitting quietly at a table, spinning a spoon in a mug of thick smelling coffee with an unreadable look on her features, which put Kidd off for a moment, but only a moment and he sat down next to her calmly. She glanced at him, her golden eyes flickering with an emotion he couldn't name because it only lasted for a nanosecond and then she looked back down at her coffee, continuing to spin her spoon in the cup.

They sat there in silence for a while, Kidd just tapping his finger tips against the table top as he watched her. Then he broke the silence, tucking a strand of ginger colored hair behind her pointed ear. "Hey."

She glanced at him again, pausing from mixing her drink and simply said: "Hi."

That felt like the first civil thing she told him in two weeks. He couldn't help but crack a small grin, but that didn't mean he was out of the swamp yet; he needed to tread carefully or else he was going to drown in deep waters. So, maybe a bit of small talk would be a good idea, right?

"So," he started slowly, his hand sliding down so his hand ran up and down her back gently. "You're showing your ears more than normal."

She stiffened, turning her head towards and narrowed her golden eyes at him.

Shit; definitely the _wrong_ thing to say. How could he forget that she hated to talk about her ears?

Then she relaxed, sorta. She looked away, taking a hand away from the spoon so it rested against the side of mug and her fingers reached up to rub the shell of her ear, and she had embarrassment filling her eyes like a thick glaze. "Th—there were no hats that would fit over them…" she said quietly with a deep frown.

"Well," Kidd started, pulling her hand away from touching her ears. "I think that you look better without a hat, or even that hood."

She snapped her head back at him, her eyes growing wide as she stared at him, like she was in shock. "_R—really?_" she stuttered.

Kidd stared back at her: had no one told her that before or was she just generally surprised he said that because he kinda was too; seemed out of character for him. "Yeah," he answered shortly.

She looked away again, staring intensely at the pool of thick smelling coffee in front of her. "S—so you think I look pretty?" she questioned, looking back up at him and bite her lower lip.

Kidd blinked at her; she twisted his words, but it was true. Kidd thought she was pretty. "Yes," he said quietly, keeping his voice down; he didn't need Killer to have more material to taunt him with since the masked blonde wasn't too far away. "I think you're pretty without a hat or the hood."

A smile crossed her lips, it was small, but it was there as she looked down at her coffee again, and that was all he needed to see that he was getting out of the thick waters of Gabriella's anger, now it was time to ask. "Full moon is tonight," he simply said, running his hand through her ginger hair, letting his pale finger tangle in her locks.

She snapped her head back up at him, her eyes narrowing into two dangerously sharp silts that looked ready to kill.

_Mayday, Mayday!_ Kidd's mind screamed, he was being pulled back into the thickets and he needed to get out of this _fast_. "Do you want to come?" he questioned, keyword was _questioned_ because he didn't order her to. "We made a plan to go after the treasure when the sun sets. Killer heard that The Challenge starts at midnight and goes until sun rise because any longer people will start losing their heads, but he heard from a…_reliable_ source that the traps turn off when the sun goes down." Kidd explained, making sure that she knew she wouldn't be forced to use her magic when she didn't want to. "So do you want to come?" he repeated.

Gabriella relaxed and she pressed her lips into a thin line of thought, tapping her finger nails against the table. She hummed lightly then popped her lips with a small nod and stood up, making the legs of the chair squeak as they slid across the floor.

Kidd thought that she was giving him the cold shoulder, silently refusing his offer; he worked so hard to make sure he stayed out of the mud, too. Oh damnit. But then she did something he wasn't expecting; she didn't walk away, but bent over slightly and kissed him. It wasn't big or anything, just a small peck on the cheek, but hey, a kiss is a kiss.

"_Mm~_kay," she answered, kissing him on the cheek again before straightening her posture once more and then walked to the stairs.

Kidd watched her leave, seeing her form go up the steps and he couldn't help but let his mind say _score _because he was officially out of the dog house. He hoped so, at least.

* * *

><p>"<em>Fire in zee hole!<em>" Jacques shouted, warning the others behind him before he threw his mini-barrel bomb at the metal door blocking their way.

The fuse went out just as the bomb hit the door, the metal warping then exploding into bits and pieces of scarps that fell to the ground with the snow.

Kidd grunted with a large grin, enjoying the fact that he was getting in compared to all the other pirate crews that were fighting in town since he could hear the battle still raging on in the distance background.

It was a good thing that he and his small group of Killer, Gabriella, Heat and Jacques left hours earlier or else they would have gotten caught up with the full out war. He wondered if Wire, the one left behind to watch over the crew, had joined the fight; Kidd knew his crew loved to tough it out with other crews, showing them who was boss, but Chamberlain would have been against the plan. It's not that the navigator didn't like to fight, he just preferred to have Kidd there, too and also the thin summoner mage would be left…unattended. Killer refused to go if Madeline did, so Kidd had Doc drug her, knocking her out for a few hours so his first-mate could focus fully on the mission to find the treasure. So if the crew was gone, no one would be watching Madeline and everyone knew that she would probably just get in trouble trying to find Killer. It just painted a bad picture in everyone's minds.

Kidd shook that off though and looked behind him, seeing that the town was still in a dome of orange that was a light of fiery haze in the distance and then he turned back to his crew. "Let's move out!" He ordered, leading the way into the icy fortress.

The hallways were covered with ice and snow, making the lightless halls have a foggy glow that allowed them to see as they walked through the underground tunnels of the fortress. That made it cold, freezing cold; and even though his summoner mage was wearing her new winter gear, she still shivered in the coldness and it looked like she was ready to dart into his fur coat for extra warmth, but she had to carry her spear, treating it like a walking stick.

Kidd glanced back at her, seeing her jaw chattering wildly while she shivered violently and he was ready to reach out and wrap an arm around her waist to pull her close, but he shook his head of the thoughts. He needed to examine his surroundings, plus he really didn't want the spear's sharp blade to swipe at his cheek…again.

So he focused on what was round him and he saw that it was just like the walk through the woods. There were the same ivory spikes of choppy metal swaying back and forth like they were breaking down, or charging up. It seemed like these were the tentacle looking traps were the culprits that beheaded the stupid morons that tried to sneak into the fortress before the night of the full moon, though Kidd was slightly curious of why the metal acted like this. There were a lot of questions that went through his mind about it: why did the metal only break down on the night of the full moon and what is it that caused it, which led to the question of if the _thing_ that did this was a serious threat.

But none of those questions could even be answered since a metal spike started to spark out of control and Kidd had to duck out of the way before his head got sliced off. Then a crack rippled through the atmosphere as the spike plunged into the ceiling, causing the stone to crumble, popping loudly will pebbles that grew in size as the rocks came crashing down upon him and his crew.

Kidd jumped out of the way just before the rocks hit the floor; feeling bits and pieces of pebbles hit his shoulder. He shook his shoulders to cast away the small rocks and then looked around to see if everyone was alright, but then his eyes opened wide and he pivoted around completely to face the pile of rocks blocking his path. "Fuck!" He cursed, fumbling with the pocket of his pants to pull out his den-den mushi and quickly dialed the number to Killer's.

"_We're fine_," Killer answered right away, making Kidd feel relieved that his crew didn't get crushed to death, but then the next thing he said made his heart skip a beat. "_Gabriella's not with us though_."

Kidd was glad that no one was with him currently because the look on his face was one he thought his facial features could ever form. "You're fucking kidding me, right?" He asked, making sure he heard his first-mate clearly and his mind wasn't just fucking with him because he liked a girl and was worried about her.

"_I'm not_," was the response.

Kidd sighed heavily, his breath almost sounding shaky as he ran a hand through his red hair, his mind going a mile a minute. Did Gabriella really get crushed; did she really…_die_ on him? He slapped a hand to his forehead, ignoring the small pinch his palm got when it hit his goggles: God damnit, he knew he should have watched over her better.

"_But don't worry_," Killer's voice drew Kidd away from his inner thoughts. "_The hall forked off in two ways, so she is probably in the other one. She's quick, she knows how to dodge_."

Kidd didn't know who Killer was talking about because he remember _multiple_ times where he had to save his summoner mage from _something_. He groaned lightly, this did _not_ look good. "Yeah," he mumbled, deciding to agree with his first-mate, maybe agreeing would make him feel better, but in truth, it didn't. It just made him feel worse.

* * *

><p>Gabriella dusted off her sleeves of peddles and dust then coughed lightly into the palm of her gloved hand. She barely made it out of that one. If that little opening to one of the narrow hallways wasn't there, she would have totally been crushed to pieces. She could be quick on her feet, but when something came literally from the sky or from right under her feet, her reactions slowed down a little too much for comfort, especially for Kidd probably. The red head was more than likely freaking out right now, but there was nothing she could do but go forward and try to find someone or something.<p>

She could use her magic to teleport, of course, but she would walk around a bit first. She didn't really know the lay out of the fortress, so it would hard to find her way around and it would just end up with her using up magical energy. But if she really got lost and couldn't find anyone, she would use her magic, probably going back to the inn where she could contact Kidd and tell him she was alright. She didn't want him running around looking for her when there was a time limit to this 'challenge' and after all this, she would invest in getting a den-den mushi; all this separation without connection was a bit too much on the heart.

So with the plan set, she looked down the hallway, inspecting the white snow giving it a hazy glow that allowed her eyes to see through the natural made light that was there. There were smaller spikes in this narrow hall as she inspected the walls and it seemed fairly safe to go down. Though she didn't know if it was completely safe considering the fortress was _freezing_ cold and that could effect her if she didn't find warmth soon, so that took main priority: finding Kidd so she could get warm.

She started forward, the snow crunching under her feet along with her spear's butt hitting the bare stone of the floor with a _tap, tap, tap_. Her eyes scanned the close corridors, ducking under weak moving spikes that poked out from the walls and ceiling, looking like they were trying to take her head with one fatal swoop, but the objects just seemed to be out of energy to do anything and they limply moved towards her at a snail's pace.

_Click, clack, **clunk.**_

She stopped, her long ears picking up on the odd sound of a hammer hitting a nail's head. The summoner mage glanced further down the hallway, eyeing it warily as she continued on her way, following the noise. The sound pulsed through her ears louder and louder as she got closer and closer to it, and the light that glanced off the ice turned brighter, torchlight filtering into the hallway from the room that branched off it. She stepped in slowly, her first step being cautious as she walked into a large chamber filled with mechanical objects that whirled, twirled and beeped. She never saw something like this before, she saw a few machines before, but never…so many in one place. She couldn't help but gap in slight awe at them, her eyes roaming the blinking lights of all colors, but then her eyes landed on something that had more of a humanistic movement compared to the machines.

"**No-no-no!**" the metallic man cried choppily in a robotic voice, his metal fingers running through a small patch of his silver hair. "**Not-good, not-good,**" the man repeated, shaking his mechanical head jerkily.

She watched the man, his movements looking so robotic due to his mechanical limbs. It was interesting to watch the man work, taking his hammer and hitting it against a metal sheet to put it into place. But then something clicked; the mechanical limbs must mean that this man is much stronger than a normal human being and smarter, too. This taking the front seat of her mind, she slowly started to back out of the room, but her soft movement wasn't enough to drown out her escape, especially when her heel bumped into a piece of scarp metal.

The man stopped working, his head whirling around completely like an owl's and he glared at her narrowly with glowing red lights for eyes. "**You-should-not-be-here-human,**" he declared, his body twisting so he was fully facing the summoner mage.

Gabriella swallowed the thick lump forming in her throat: how in the hells was she supposed to beat a _cyborg?_

* * *

><p>Killer led the crew's second-mate and bomber down the hallway they entered, back tracking to find another hall that branched off so they could look for the treasure. The three all agreed that Kidd wouldn't be focused on finding the treasure, but rather the summoner mage, so they decided that they would leave their captain to do what he wanted while they look for what they came for: the prize.<p>

Though there was a wall in front of that prize and it wasn't because they couldn't find it, but it was because their rivals finally joined the race, and it was none other than Basil Hawkins.

"What are you doing here?" Killer questioned, eyeing the eight men with the rival supernova, sizing up the pirates incase they got into a fight. It looked like he could handle them; Hawkins would be a challenge, but that was expected: he wasn't the fourth ranked supernova for nothing.

Hawkins ignored the question and just shuffled his cards and then picked the first one from the top of the deck. "Hmm," he hummed, looking over it shortly before replacing it back into the deck. "You and I are not enemies right now, Massacre Machine Killer," Hawkins droned, glancing lazily up at the masked blonde.

Killer tilted his head to the side, blinking his eyes from behind his mask in confusion. "Yeah? Then who is?"

Hawkins jerked a thumb to the side and as if right on cue a group of older looking pirates shuffled in, glaring at them.

"Pirates from the worst generation," one growled, shoving his hands deep into his pockets with a scowl craved into his wrinkled features. "Might as well get rid of you lot now while we're here."

Killer glanced at Hawkins, the pirate captain's emotion never changing but Killer felt that his eyes were saying that: _see_-_I-told-you-so._

* * *

><p>Kidd rushed through the halls trying to find his summoner mage or the treasure, or both, but if it had to be one, it would have to be Gabriella. Though, there was a problem, he had no idea where he was going, he just went down whichever hall he came to first, following his gut as he walked.<p>

He would have thought he made progress using this method, but then he hit a dead end: a large rundown chamber filled with broken pillars and stairs that went nowhere.

"Fuck," Kidd grumbled, getting ready to turn on his heel to backtrack.

"Why you leavin' so soon, Kidd?" A familiar voice drew out slowly, making the red head whirl around and scowl at the smirking, tanned face.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kidd growled, staring down at the amusement on Token's face, who as leaning against a pillar.

"I'm here to ask you for your answer," Token answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What answer?" Kidd bite out, feeling his impatience rising slowly to a simmer.

"To our bet about the _lovely_ young lady," Token chuckled shaking his head.

Kidd's impatience snapped to a sudden boil just because of one little sentence and he whirling out his revolver, cocking then pulling the trigger at the blonde captain.

Token laughed dryly after he dodged the bullet with ease and then he stood firmly, pointing a finger directly at Kidd. "I _will_ take your precious girlfriend because you stole my April," the blonde declared sternly, his brows furrowing as a smug smirk widened on his lips.

"I don't even know who the fuck that is!" Kidd barked, cocking his revolver for another shot.

Token scoffed, rolling his eyes at the comment, but he ignored it and went on with his own rant. "If I have to fight to get what I want, then I will, Kidd," Token stated with confidence laced in his smug tone. "You aren't the only one with a devil fruit power."

Kidd scoffed again, his annoyance with the blonde rising quickly just like his impatience, but then his narrow, angry eyes widened at what he saw and only one thing could be muttered from passed his lips.

"_What the fuck?_"

* * *

><p>Cliffhanger...<p> 


	38. Chapter 37: Trolley's Sun

Another longer chapter and an early update! I feel so proud...though I had so many mistakes in the last chapter when I went back to edit. Gosh people, you need to tell me when I make mistakes. I don't bite, Kidd does, but I don't!

Animelover007: I know, I can be pretty evil with my cliff hangers. ;p But this chapter will answer all. :)

Alpenwolf: There are a lot of problems in this chapter, will they be fixed? They world will never know.

Son of Whitebeard: I'm afraid I don't know how to respond to your review...so I shall say that you are right, because that fixes everything, just like beer. :3

UnperfectButLovingIt: Token should leave Gabriella and Kidd alone, he's just a big meanie. :(

Neeky-chan: Gabriella needs more than luck and Kidd always gives into anger, that's who he is. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 37: Trolley's Sun.<p>

Gabriella was in a pickle. She had never truly seen a cyborg in person before; sure she had seen little newspaper clippings about Kuma and his many minion copies, but she never thought she would come face to face with one. From stories that Killer told her about Shabondy, Kuma was almost impossible to beat and it took Kidd along with himself, Wire, Heat and some other guys from the crew teamed up with a small group of other pirates under the Surgeon of Death to defeat him. By the time the pirate warlord was down, they were all exhausted beyond belief and Killer admitted he was surprised that they made it off the island in one piece since an admiral had supposedly shown up too, though they didn't see him.

She was wary because of that little story. She didn't have someone backing her up on this one and she didn't know what to do. Magic was always an option, that was true and she could just teleport away, but she was never known to backing down from a fight; it was what a coward did and she was no coward. Did that mean she wasn't scared? Of course not; she was about to fight something that wasn't considered fully human and pretty much had super powers. Wouldn't that make anyone scared?

She stood firm though, not letting the glisten of grey metal shake her nerves to the point where her opponent could see she was uneasy. She just gripped her spear tightly within her hands, but she temporally pondered if the blade could even make a dent in the metal limbs.

"**You-should-not-be-here-human**," The cyborg repeated choppily once again, his mechanical fingers twitching on the base of the large hammer in his hand. "**This-place-holds-Trolley's-Sun.**"

Her eyes flickered with mild shock: that name rang a bell.

Madeline told her stories of the stone golem that repeated something similar to this, though it was sky rather than sun. But it wasn't the similar name that caused her eyes to widen; it was the fact that another large diamond was the treasure.

That threw her into a whole different ball park that she did not want to be in; she could not use magic whatsoever. Something didn't feel right though since she couldn't feel her power draining; the larger the diamond, the faster and the more magical energy it drains compared to smaller diamonds even a large quantity. She even got used to the feeling of small diamonds sucking out her energy slowly, which wasn't a good thing, but since her mother always wore a diamond ring, it was something that was going to happen.

Large diamonds were another story though, and she should have felt her magic leave the moment she entered the fortress. So, to test the statement of the cyborg, she hid her hand behind her back to see.

She instantly felt the warmth of the small golden glow smothering her skin with warlock's power: the diamond wasn't there anymore. And she had a feeling that metal face here didn't know about it yet; better not tell him that, so she kept her mouth shut, shaking the gold hue from her hand and replaced it back on the staff of her spear, her stance falling into a defensive position.

The cyborg took this action of hers as a challenge and the grip on his weapon tighten, and she just saw the thick metal warp under the pressure.

She swallowed the thick lump forming in her throat, feeling a bit anxious at the fight to come, and it was anything but excitement swelling in her gut.

The cyborg stood there only a moment longer, but then in a flash he was running towards her, hammer in hand that quickly went up above his head ready to crash down upon her, giving her little time to do anything. She dodged the blow just barely, feeling the heavy stone grazing across the leather covering her ankle and she hissed in pain at the small sting, but it was not the time to have her mind focused on baby wounds. The hammer was being plowed out of the ground and then swung in the direction of her head at top speed and she ducked, rolling across the floor and she was sure this was going to be her undoing, but then she heard metal crack and crumble.

"**NO-NO!**" the cyborg screeched, making the summoner mage look over her shoulder to see the humanoid trembling with rage because he had accidently hit a piece of machinery. "**No-time-no-time!**" he continued to yell. "**Only-on-tonight-can-everything-be-repaired!**"

Gabriella felt her mind slipping away to curiosity, but she violently pushed it aside and had her eyes lock onto the small sliver of wiring that held the cyborg's arm to his shoulder. Her hands acted on their own, pushing her away from the ground and gathering up her spear and then sliced the wiring clean through so the arm came flying off, but that didn't mean it stopped moving.

The arm seemed to fling itself towards her leg, wrapping its mechanical fingers around her ankle and squeezed.

She yelped at the pain and she went down, going straight to the ground to try and pry the hand way, but it held firm, though she felt that it was starting to lose its strength the farther it was away from the main body. So, she continued to pull and pull, but then she stopped when she saw the feet of the cyborg in front of her.

"**This-is-your-fault-human**," it declared lowly.

She dared not look up and see the hammer hovering over her head ready to smash her skull in, but instead she sucked up her petty wants and just used her magic, opening a portal just in time to dodge the hammer's brutal blow.

She pressed her back flush against a wall, she had no idea where she was, all she knew is that she was still in the room with machinery because she was standing behind something whirling hot air into her face. Sweat began to surface onto her skin, causing it to drip down her cheeks and brow, but she ignored it and relaxed slightly because she was safe, or at least she thought so.

"**I-know-you-are-there-human,**" the cyborg stated in the distance.

Gabriella froze, her body growing stiff to the point where her ears could only pick up onto the sound of metal feet hitting the floor. She was going to die. There was no way in hell she could defeat him, she was barely getting away from his attacks in time and she couldn't use her magic to summon anything; she had no room to make a portal in just a cramped place and if she went out into the open, she would spend all her time dodging rather than using her magic.

She needed to think of something fast, her mind going a mile a minute as the footsteps got closer and closer then it hit her. She placed a foot to the back of the machine she was behind, her knee barely touching her chest and then she shimmied upwards until both her feet were firmly on the wiring lacing the machine's back. Then she pushed, using all her body strength to get the machine to topple over, but it wound not budge.

"**There-is-nothing-you-can-do-human,**" the cyborg spoke again, his voice sounding closer than ever which caused her body to get a rush of adrenaline.

The sudden boost was the power she needed to get the machine to creak forward, falling towards the cyborg.

She heard him start to scream, but the metal crashed down upon him, ending the screech to nothing by banging as the machine's wires pulled at others causing a chain reaction, and that is when her world went black.

* * *

><p>"What is it, Kidd?" Token sneered, jumping back and forth in his devil fruit form. "Cat got your tongue?"<p>

Kidd just gawked at what the blonde captain turned into: a kangaroo.

A large sandy colored kangaroo with big, bright-red boxing gloves that covered his paws and the goggles there were formerly over the man's brow moved down to cover is beady black eyes.

It was so fucking hilarious looking that Kidd had no words to say expect to laugh.

The red head was hunched over, holding his ribs in fear that they might pop out because his lungs started to scream from the lack of proper oxygen getting to them that Kidd actually started to wheeze, but then he stopped when he heard something above him and he looked up to see pebbles tickle down and then bounce against the skin of his cheek. His brow furrowed together: _weird_.

Then he heard the sound of large feet padding against the floor and he looked back down just in time to see a blob of red hit his nose.

"_**Fuck!**_" he cursed, stumbling back while clutching his stinging nose. God damnit, he totally forgot that this moron was in the room.

"That's what you get for being an ass," Token scoffed, getting in a ready boxing position, a light hop in his step as he bounced back and forth in his kangaroo form.

Kidd just scowled narrowly at the moron in front of him and he called upon his own devil fruit powers, using all the metal to his advantage and the purple sparks of electricity could be seen around the room as the power started to pull the spikes embedded into the wall.

Then something tapped his shoulder and he glanced over to see a rock jump from the fur to the floor. His brows furrowed together again: _weird?_

He didn't know if there was something odd about that, but he didn't worry about it and focused back on Token, though when he did look back, he saw that his opponent had leaned far back onto his muscular tail until his hind legs were up in the air.

Oh _fuck_: Kidd knew what was going to happen now.

His back rammed into a pile of rubble covered by snow and ice after the large feet shoved him fully in the chest. Thankfully his coat blocked the chilling feeling from the ice and the wetness from the snow, but it didn't cancel out the stinging pain. Though most of the pain came from the gash on his side, where he got that, he had no idea; just showed how much he head was not in the game. He blamed his missing summoner mage for that.

But when he thought about her, it made him worry, thinking that she was anything but okay and worst of all…_dead_.

_No_, he shook his head, he would not allow those thoughts to enter his mind and he put full focus on Token who had turned around, like he was talking to someone off in the distance.

What a freak.

Kidd ignored that, too and put all his will power into getting out of the pile of rubble, but then the ceiling cracked violently, metal scraps falling from the ceiling right on top of Token.

His brows furrowed together for a third time: _weird_, he didn't remember doing that.

Maybe it was a gift from God, which was highly unlikely since he had done more bad than good since the beginning of his life, but then he really thought it was a gift from God when his summoner mage crashed down into his lap.

He blinked for a second since when she initially came down, he had no idea what it was, but when he saw the ginger hair fan out across his bare chest his eyes opened wide. "G—Gabriella!" He stuttered, feeling relief wash over his body as he sat up quickly, but when her head limply started to go backward and he saw that her eyes were closed he wrapped his arms around her tightly to stop her fall.

Kidd actually started to panic, thinking that she was seriously _dead_. Wasn't there someway to check to see if someone was alive still? Doctor Dick told him about it a few times, but Kidd just couldn't think clearly on where it was, so he did the only thing he could.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "Wake up!" He ordered.

"_**Hey!**_" Someone shouted in the distance, actually making Kidd stop and he looked up, seeing Token was still alive, but unable to move because of a large piece of metal atop his tail that he was trying to pull out. "_Don't man-handle her! Check her pulse!_"

That's when it clicked in Kidd's brain and he placed two of his fingers to her neck, right under her jaw and he felt the rapid _bump, bump, bump_ against the pads. He sighed heavily, wrapping his arms around her tightly and pulled her into a hug, not caring that Token was watching; if anything it would get the blonde captain turned kangaroo furious.

"_**HEY!**_" Token shouted again, his furry body trembling, which proved Kidd's point. "_Don't do that! We're fighting for her you know!_"

Kidd's head snapped up from resting against the top of his summoner mage's head and he scowled darkly at the moron across the room, but Token had taken his attention away from the red head and towards the distance corner again.

"_Now help me out of here_," he barked and then out came four men, rushing to the blonde captain's, turned kangaroo, aid.

Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes: Token brought backup, what a coward.

He was slightly annoyed with that, not because he was out numbered, Kidd could have easily taken care of them, but Token had said the fight was going to be like a one on one, yet he brought backup. It looked like Token really didn't trust himself to beat Kidd.

Then his irritated thoughts melted away when his summoner mage started to move, and when she placed a hand to his bleeding side.

He hissed at the pain, snapping Gabriella from her sleepiness and she looked up at him with either shock of concern, Kidd didn't know which, but then she looked down, gasping at his wound.

"Where did you get this?" she slurred the questioned, her voice still sounding like she had just woken up though her movements told him otherwise since she hurried off him quickly.

Kidd frowned at the absent warmth from her form on his. "I honestly have no idea," he answered, slowly getting up himself, but damn, his side hurt like a bitch. He almost stumbled backwards, but he held his ground, a hand going to his bloodied side and he grunted as the pain shot an unpleasant shiver up his spine. Yup, it definitely hurt like a bitch.

Gabriella hurried to help support him, grabbing the collar of his coat and pulled him into a firm standing position, and then she placed a hand over his that was on top of the gash. "Here, let me see," she said softly, trying to pull away his hand.

Kidd refused to let her remove it. "I'm fine," he told her bluntly, he had worse than this, and right now since he found her, he needed to find the rest of his crew so that they could all look for the treasure, so he tried to jerk her away, but his summoner mage wouldn't allow that.

Gabriella went to her tippy toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and placed a harsh kiss to his lips, making his eyes open wide with shock.

He really wasn't excepting a rough kiss, and apparently neither was Token since he was screaming in the background for him to stop. That was easily ignored of course and Kidd's hand left his side, tangling his slightly bloody fingers into her hair to pull closer and he wrapped an arm around her, making sure there was no gap between them, and he ignored the small pang of pain when her stomach brushed up against his wound.

Kidd never really realized how much he missed kissing Gabriella, sure he missed being around her when it didn't have to do with fighting, but this was something he didn't know how much he missed having until he actually did it again. He would admit it was blissful, ignoring all those in the background as Token screeched at his crew to put him down but his crew protested, saying that they needed to get him to a doctor right away and then the threatening screams of Token faded away to nothing.

They were alone, and Kidd, for a split second, thought that Gabriella wanted to actually go to the next level with a kiss that led to _so_ much more, her tongue running along his lower lip. It irked him that she was being slightly dominant with the heated moment, but as of right now, Kidd really didn't care since he could always get it into his favor if he wanted. He just wanted to kiss her, so his lips parted ways and he felt her tongue dart in, going straight to his and he felt a flash of heat as they met, but then she did the cruel thing of pulling away abruptly.

Kidd was left speechless, his jaw hanging slack and the tip of his tongue resting slightly on his lower lip.

"Now let me see," she repeated, taking her gloves off, shoving them quickly into the pockets of her purple fur coat and then placing a hand over his unattended wound. "Doc gave me ointment since he knew you would get into trouble." She explained, pulling out a small bottle filled with a white glossy healing agent and she uncapped the bottle then placed a bit on her fingers then started to rub the ointment onto his side.

Kidd hissed lightly at the first touch, but when she started to work in the ointment, the wound slowly lost its pain and began to cool. His stiff muscles relaxed, losing the tension as he stared down at her, and…he kinda felt she did the same thing to him form before: using a kiss to get what she wanted. Though, she was doing it to help him where as he, on the other hand was using a kiss to get her to use her magic for his own personal gain. He hadn't intended it to be like that, but it was how it came out.

So, he didn't get mad at her, but he was still miffed about her leaving him hanging like that, but _that_ could easily be fixed when she was done nursing his wound.

Then he noticed something. "Is…that an _arm_ clinging to your leg?"

Gabriella stopped what she was doing and looked at her foot and there was five mechanical fingers clutching her ankle. "Yeah," she shrugged then went back to work.

Kidd blinked. "How did you get it?"

"I fought a cyborg," she said softly, and Kidd could have sworn he heard a bit of nervousness in her voice. "And I was able to cut his arm off, but it was able to attach itself to my leg. Almost broke the bone too…" she ended, and Kidd saw her shutter slightly.

"Then get rid of that thing," Kidd told her. "It's dead weight."

Gabriella looked up at him, a small smile spreading the corner of her lips. "Now why would I do that? It's my prize for beating a cyborg," she replied, but then she added: "Plus you never know what might happen to you since you don't even know where you got this," she said, gently patting his side.

Kidd's brow twitched, whether it was with annoyance or pain, he didn't know. "Like I would let something cut my arm off," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Gabriella just smiled teasingly. "You never know, Kidd."

* * *

><p>Killer actually walked alongside Hawkins after the fight, looking for the treasure together. Killer really didn't know why, but the rival captain said the cards told him they still weren't enemies. Now, the masked blonde wasn't much of a believer in fortune telling, but with Jacques almost out of commission because he took a bullet to the leg, Killer decided that it would be best just to listen. He really didn't want to fight Hawkins and his best fighters alone since Heat was taking care of the bomber. It wasn't that Killer didn't have faith in himself, but he would rather split the treasure than end up mortally wounded since Hawkins's devil fruit powers were deadly; he saw that first hand.<p>

Killer liked to think his plan was rational for all, so he went along with it. Though, he hoped Kidd wouldn't pop around a corner or else things were going to get nasty.

But as if reading his mind, Hawkins commented that Kidd was having his own troubles with his own enemy, which was Token.

That made Killer curious on how the pirate captain knew that, and Hawkins didn't even need to look at his cards and he bluntly said that the man followed him for it seemed that Hawkins, along with others, had the same idea as Killer and Kidd when it came to coming to the fortress earlier than the rest of the pirate crews.

Killer just shrugged at that, but then went onto another question about Gabriella and Hawkins said she was alive and was with Kidd as they spoke and then the pirate captain asked if the masked blonde had anymore questions and Killer said one more.

About One Piece.

Hawkins shook his head, saying that he refused to look at any fortunes about treasure or One Piece and then went on to explain that it would ruin the fun on actually trying to get anything.

Killer actually agreed with the logic, though he was slightly surprised that Hawkins had the word _fun_ in his vocabulary.

But the musing thought was pushed away as they entered a chamber, and Killer felt like he had a sense of déjà vu since there was a giant pillar in the middle which looked familiar, though there was nothing on it. His mind tried to think of what was wrong, but then Heat pointed something out to him, whispering into his ear as he jabbed a thumb towards something on the ground.

Killer turned his masked head in the direction, seeing a bloody corpse on the snowy floor, blood caked on the mats of thick white fur that seemed to be sinking into the skeleton under the skin due to rotting. He figured it had to be a week old by now, so it was caught in the spiky traps all along the fortress, but that wasn't what made him stand there in shock.

It wasn't the fact that the treasure in the room was supposedly gone either, but it was because the dead snow monster looked exactly like one of Gabriella's summoned demons.

Killer couldn't help but smell something fowl was on the wind.

* * *

><p>So, a bit of foreshadowing for what will happen to Kidd and his arm. I don't know if he really lost and arm or if its just his devil fruit powers really tricked out. But losing an arm seems more likely, so that is what will happen, though not any time soon(?). Just in case we find something else out, you know?<p>

And I bet you can guess who was at the fortress and stole the treasure. :D


	39. Chapter 38: Government's Island

I kinda like this chapter, don't know why, I just do.

Aplenwolf: Kidd is getting closer to his awesome metal arm (I'm pretty sure he gets one). And Killer's logic with agreeing seemed like a good idea, didn't it? Well, it wasn't.

Son of Whitebeard: I needed to have more of the supernova in there. Who knows, you might see Bonny or Drake next. ;p

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 38: Government's Island<p>

Hebe walked into the shadowed chamber with her snowy demons right behind her, their large grey feet pounding against the marble flooring as they huffed deeply, the heat of the climate affecting their bodies coated with fur. Hebe ignored the discomfort of her demons though and continued to stroll across the floor with a sense of confidence around her, a prideful aura radiating off her person because she successfully completed her mission with no strings attached. She would finally please her master with good news for once.

"_So_," the voice of her master came from behind a veil of blackness, the white of his white barely visible through the darkness and she could only see the hazy outline of him lounging in a puddle of pillows on the floor, but his face was illuminated by the bright light of the orb he was twisting around between his fingers. "_You finally did as you were told correctly, Hebe,_" Jafar commented, his eyes never looking away from the white glowing orb, like he was watching something from inside.

The confidence within Hebe washed away to nothing, and she started to slink backwards away from her master and to her shield of demons panting from the warm weather behind her. She gulped, looking down at a spot in the middle of the floor between her and her master. "Yes," she mumbled, fiddling with the fabric of her robes at her sides nervously.

Jafar glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, noticing the change in her demeanor instantly. "_Was it difficult to retrieve?_" he questioned smoothly, looking backwards the orb in his hand.

Hebe looked to the side, eyeing the large yellow diamond her panting snow demon was carrying in his arms, and then she looked back towards her master, shaking her head slowly. "No, it was actually quite simple, Master." She answered sheepishly. "I was able to go in a week before all the other pirates on the island thanks to my magic, but also because of your enchanted gold," she started to explain, her fingers running along the chain of the golden medallion around her neck, but then she frowned when something else came to mind. "Though, I was slightly surprised when Caden's Heir didn't use her magic to get in earlier, too. She does have one of your necklaces as well and I'm sure her captain would have wanted to get it done and over with."

That seemed to spark Jafar's interest and he looked over at her fully, his brow rising in curiosity. "_Did you ever encounter Caden's Heir when you were at the island?_"

Hebe shook her head again. "I didn't," she replied. "I was long gone before she or her crew even stepped foot into the fortress."

"_Hmm,_" Jafar grunted, disinterested in the whole subject as he gazed back into the glowing like of the orb. "_Too bad,_" he tsked, shaking his head slightly. "_Though Calamity meant no harm, her students still are going to die soon._"

* * *

><p>Kidd's rage was vivid. He was blistering neon red for days because of what had happened. It wasn't because the treasure he wanted so much to get his hands on was gone, nor was it the terrible fact that Killer, his first-mate, was walking calmly along side Basil Hawkins, a rival pirate captain, but it was what Killer said.<p>

"_I decided that we were going to team up with Hawkins and split the treasure._"

That blew Kidd's lid off and he went into attack mode, fully ready to duel it out with the rival pirate captain, but Basil said they weren't going to fight, and lord and behold, he was right.

Kidd went to his knees in a fit of furious rage, the battle wounds he got from Token putting a heavier toll on him, even with Doc's ointment working to heal the damaged skin.

That pissed Kidd off, but there was nothing that could be done about it until he rested up then fought, and killed, Hawkins, but that day never came because Hawkins came two weeks earlier to the island, so their log post was set, ready for them to move on, which pissed Kidd off even more since by the time he was all healed up and ready to go into full out kill mode, the rival pirate was long gone.

So now, Kidd was left with bottled up anger directed at solely one person that was not there and he didn't know when the next time he would meet up with the rival pirate captain. He was like a time bomb ticking away and one wrong move would end up with an unlucky sap being murdered only a second later; no one even tried to talk to Kidd except for Killer and Chamberlain since those two _had_ to talk to him.

Not even Gabriella talked to him because she almost made the redhead explode into little pieces, and all she asked was if he ever got a new coat, could she have his old one. She didn't know why, but she was starting to like the looks of it.

Though it didn't matter what explanation she told him, Kidd still went into an almost deadly frenzy, actually flipping his desk over in rage, making the summoner mage dash from the room in hopes to avoid the desk that was ready to be thrown in her face.

After that little…_incident_, Gabriella stayed in her room, not even going out when food was being served; she made Madeline go get her something small, but she couldn't stay locked up forever. She heard some crewmembers walking by her room, saying that they were coming up on a marine base soon.

That actually made her want to stay put, in fear that the marines would tell the council on her, but she had the rough feeling that Kidd would force her out if she didn't go, so she had to suck it up.

She heard that they would be docking at the island later that day, so she decided to by the time, and cheer her up, with the wonderful knew clothes she got. She and Madeline stored all their clothes under her bed since Madeline's had a...stuff under hers. Gabriella was surprised it all fit, even with all the shoes they had gotten.

Gabriella stood in front of the mirror hanging from the door of her room, examining her chosen outfit that she decided to wear, twisting back and forth to make the loose fabric of her dress swing. She liked the color of it, it was a dark violet hue with a somewhat silky fabric that felt nice on her bare skin, just like the leather of her sandals. She looked down at the image of her feet within the reflective surface, turning the ball of her foot to and fro so that she could see all the leather wrapping elegantly around her ankles and across the top of her foot. It went with the outfit, though maybe it wasn't that practical since it was still rather chilly out, but she made up for the lack of clothing on her lower body with by bundling her torso. She wore a thin black jacket, with a hood so that way the marines couldn't identify her as easily, and also she wore her new, purple fur coat; it always paid off to wear layers.

It always made her smile when she was warm, though not too warm of course, but she was still feeling cold, her legs mostly, so before she took what little time she had to curl up under her covers for a few more hours.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Well, that didn't last long.

The summoner mage looked up, her eyes staring at the door and she wondered who it was. If it was Kidd, he would have kicked the door down and Madeline would have just come in. Her brows furrowed together in slight curiosity as she slipped off the covers of her bed and jumped off the mattress then walked slowly over to the door and opened only to be greeted by the unexpected appearance of Bedros; it had been awhile since she saw the stone devil after Calamity left.

"There's something wrong," he informed her, a deep frown crossing his lips.

Her brow rose upward, her interest rising. "What do you mean?"

"There is something on the air," he clarified. "Something that just tells me something really bad is coming. It doesn't look good," he told her and then he turned on the heel of his boot, waving a hand over his shoulder, telling her to follow.

Gabriella had no idea what was going on, but she shrugged her shoulders and went along with it, grabbing up her spear before walking out of her room and then shut the door softly behind her and then jogged lightly to catch up to the stone devil hurrying down the hall.

Bedros led her to the deck where most of the crew was, looking over in the near distance at the newest island. She was surprised to see a grey hazy glow with a tint of orange surrounding the piece of small land, like a battle had been raging on for months. What would be attacking the marines for so long baffled her since the military would have probably brought in back up if it was that much trouble from pirates, unless it was one of the four pirate emperors, Blackbeard being the newest one after Whitebeard's death over a year ago.

"It isn't pirates," Bedros whispered into her ear, making sure that the other members of the crew couldn't hear him. "It's something else."

"Then…what is it?" She whispered back just as softly, her brows furrowing together since the stone devil debunked her inner reasoning.

"I don't know," Bedros answered, his frown deepening. "But we need to find out. It could be bad; no, it _is_ bad," he corrected.

Gabriella didn't say anything else, but simply nodded towards the stone devil then looked back at the island wondering what was in store for them.

* * *

><p>Ash coated the ground thickly like black snow, covering all in a constant shower from the dreary grey clouds from above to keep the island's streets, houses and leafless trees caked in soot. Gabriella resisted the urge to scrunch her nose at the potent smell of burning flesh, and she forced a solemn look across her features rather than a disgusted one as she was carefully stepping over the corpses littering the ground. She tried to let the feeling of remorse over take her senses, not letting the revolting sight overcome her; she had to feel sorry, death like this was terrible to come upon anyone.<p>

Sure, this is what Kidd did as a twisted hobby before he left certain islands, but that didn't mean she participated or even approved of it. She had to go along with it because Kidd was her captain and she held her tongue on the subject because she really didn't want to deal with his retorts about killing senselessly. It was a verbal battle she did not want to get into.

She didn't even know where Kidd was as of now; the crew was looking through the remains of the islands, not even bothering with checking to see if anyone was alive; they were only looking for the loot that was salvageable from the remains.

That made Gabriella look away in disgust, it may have been what the crew was programmed to do on islands after a deadly, fiery battle, but that didn't mean she would do the same; she wanted to see if there was someone alive by chance, it could help them with getting answers of what happened or what was here.

She went into one of the houses that was still standing, and didn't look ready to cave in, and she saw a man there, a sword plunged into his gut. She frowned at the sight, but she looked away from it and towards house, pushing back the boards of wood that was formally the door until she could get in side. The room was a mess, papers from books torn from their binds and warped metal pots scattered across the floor, but that wasn't the worst part. There was a small girl in the middle of it all, no older then ten.

Gabriella frowned, bending down slowly while using her spear as support to keep her balance. She pushed a lock of singed blonde hair covering the girl's eyes, and the summoner saw glassy blue eyes staring into her golden ones.

Then a hand touched her shoulder, making her freeze, but when she glanced upwards she saw it was only Bedros.

The stone devil looked down at her with, his mouth opening slightly to say something, but then he stopped, his lips clamped shut when he heard something rustle from a room that branched off from they were currently in.

They both were on their toes, wary of what laid behind the door, but they went forward anyway, slowly and cautiously. Gabriella went in first and Bedros stayed back at the doorway, leaning against the frame as he silently pulled out one of his revolvers resting in his belt and with a small click, he cocked it, ready to shoot if need be. Gabriella held her spear firmly in her grip, stepping further into the room as her eyes scanned the disheveled area. Then she heard the rustling movement again, making her head snap in the direction of a crate that had a lifeless woman's body lying atop of it, like she was protecting it.

That made Gabriella look at the crate with suspicion and she slowly stalked over, pushing the woman off gently and to the ground and then she moved the lid of the crate away.

"_Oh my God,_" Gabriella gasped, dropping her spear to the ground and pulled out a young boy hiding inside the crate.

He was skin and bones, probably only will power keeping him alive for so long, along with the small bag of food his mother must have given him before he was placed in this hiding spot away from the unknown attackers. The boy said nothing, not even a yelp fluttered passed his lips as he was suddenly jerked away from his safe haven that was the four, small wooden walls nailed together. He just clung to her, his thin, frail arms wrapping around her neck as she hoisted him up onto her hip and then turned around quickly.

Gabriella ignored the surprised look on Bedros's face as she pushed passed him, rushing outside where she continued to ignore the looks the crew was giving her as she frantically looked around for Doc.

Then she saw the small glimpse of the doctor's messy blonde hair and she turned towards him, seeing his pure white surgical coat that was slightly stained black at the hems from the ash on the ground. He was currently lighting a new cigarette, his foot nudging against the ribs of a dead man his eyes were scanning over; it must have been his attempt to 'loot' a corpse, but that didn't matter right now.

"_Doc!_" she called out to him, making him turn his head lazily over his shoulder and then his jaw went slightly slack when he saw the small boy she was carrying. "_You need to look over him!_" she ordered, skidding to a halt in front of the doctor.

Doc turned around fully, staring at her wide eyed from behind his glasses, but then he glanced to the side, looking at something else, what that was, Gabriella didn't know nor did she care; there was something more important right now, and that Doctor Dick avoiding her demands. "Don't think that's a good idea," he bluntly said, taking a long drag of his smoke, smoke fluttering passed his lips as he spoke.

Gabriella's golden eyes narrowed darkly at the stubborn doctor. "This is your job, Doc." She stated coldly. "This boy needs medical attention and yet you won't give him anything, and you call yourself a doctor?"

Doc's somewhat nervous look snapped to rage, and he returned the harsh glare, but said nothing and simple plucked the boy from her arms and stalked back to the ship to do his job: be a doctor.

Gabriella couldn't help but let a small smirk grace her lips, but then it fell to a frown when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, seeing Bedros once more behind her, holding her spear in his hands.

"Here," he said softly, looking rather nervous, she would even say that he looked terrified.

She turned around slowly, eyeing his curiously, and somewhat warily as she picked her spear from his fingers, but then her eyes glanced to the side, seeing exactly why the stone devil was so god damn afraid.

It was Kidd.

He was standing off to the side with Heat standing next to him, and he had the most coldhearted, disapproving scowl on his face that just said: _drop-dead._

Gabriella, of course, would do no such thing; she did what she thought was right, and there have been times where she did that and Kidd didn't care, so why should she stop now, because he was in a bad mood? No, she would not throw aside her morals because Kidd was having a moment of complete rage, but she did value her life. So she did not scowl in return, she didn't even let her face show any emotion, just a blank look that innocently questioned what on earth she did wrong.

That just pissed Kidd off even more, and it looked like he was going to march through the ashes just to slap her until she scowled back or did something. It didn't happen though, because the red head's attention was drawn elsewhere, that look of rage being smack off instantly.

"_**KIDD!**_" Killer screamed in the distance. "_**GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OVER HERE!**_"

Gabriella felt her jaw drop, not only because the masked blonde raised his voice, which was a rare thing to hear, but also because it was probably the first time the summoner mage had _ever_ heard panic in his voice.

She gulped: this could not be good…

* * *

><p>Look! It's Bedros! It was going to be Kidd, but I liked having Bedros instead, plus Kidd would have probably killed the little boy on the spot, and I didn't want that. :D<p> 


	40. Chapter 39: Return of a Traitor

This chapter was tricky, so I hope that it is good because I like it a lot...though that is just my personal opinion...

Neeky-chan: Bedros has always been there, but for some reason there is always that character that I seem to lose in my writing... Bedros is the one in His Heir, and I hate to say it, but Bepo is the one in Bones. I need to make sure I add more of those two...

AliceLaw: Kidd needs his mood swing, if he didn't have them then he would just be a rather boring character. And he really swings his mood in this chapter towards Gabriella...lol...

Anon: I like to assume the most people also read His Heir since I have a few references(Vulcan being the biggest so far) in Bones about it. It just doesn't get as much love. Oh well, people just like Law more than Kidd I suppose, I personally see them as equally, epically awesome, but that is my opinion.

mukii: I'm happy to hear that you are still reading my story, and you will learn more about Kidd's past...some time in the future...

Son of Whitebeard: Not mutiny per say, more like Jarfar got his magic on them...

Alpenwolf: None of those things, and you will soon see what it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 39: Return of a Traitor.<p>

"_Repel!_" Kidd roared, the purple sparks of his devil fruit powers pulsing down his arm until it sparked at the skin of his hand and into the atmosphere, clinging to stray beams of iron that shuttered at the force. Then the beams started to hover in the air, but for only a brief moment before zooming off through the battle field and then smashing into the grey tinted chest that was getting to close to the red head's comfort zone.

The creature about to slam a clenched fist out on his skull screeched in pain, blood gushing from the mutated skin of its muscular chest as the beams embedded themselves into it. Then the sudden force caused the grey being to fumble, tripping over its talon feet as its hands clung to the bloodied skin unharmed by the deadly projectiles in its chest, but then its heel caught onto something, making it tumble to the ashy ground with a _thud_ as a cloud of black mist pooled into the air.

Kidd panted, his shoulders rising and falling dramatically as he watched the creature go to the ground and then more crimson stained his skin when the iron liquid splattered against his exposed, bare skin and also his wounded arm, blood seeping down from the gashes like a steady stream that dripped to the feet. He flinched at the touch when the creature's blood started to mix with his own, making it feel like poisonous little claws were scraping further into his damaged flesh. His brow twitching lightly at the unwelcomed feeling, but he ignored it and used his devil fruit powers once more, causing his pepperbox revolver to fly out from its holder on the strap across his chest and to his hand in less than a second when he heard a monstrous cry. He cocked it then pulled the trigger, barely taking time to aid. The multi barrel gun went off, allowing several bullets to plant into the eyes and forehead of another grey creature coming up from his side.

Kidd shuttered again when the creature's blood blended with his own and the muscles of his left arm felt like they were going to explode, just burst like a bubble, but it was his own fault that it happened because he didn't pay attention to his blind spot. If he had been checking like he should have been, he would have seen that pesky mutant and it wouldn't have snuck up on him.

He growled at the thought; damn fucking marines. They did the shittiest things ever: allowing humans to be sold off like prizes and now human experimentation, and on their own kinds no less. Kidd wouldn't have known better that he and his crew were fighting mutated marines if he hadn't seen the shredded remains of the uniforms on the blistering, muscular grey bodies when Killer called him over to see the advancing enemies approaching in the distance quickly. Kidd rarely ever heard his first mate in panic, and this was one of those times.

These mutants were definitely stronger than any average marine; larger in size and had more of a deadly punch to their attacks, even if they didn't use weapons. They still died the same way at least, luckily the skin wasn't super powered or something, making it strong and harder to kill. But they were faster and he could barely keep up with them, hence why his left arm felt like shriveling off to the ground like a dead leaf on a branch.

"**KIDD!**" He heard someone yell, but he didn't take the time to figure out whom it was and he focused back on the battle, cocking his pepperbox once more and whipping around and pulled the trigger on a grey mutant, the bullet drilling a hole right through the cartilage of the nose.

_SNAP!_

His ears picked up on the noise of wood snapping in half over the shriek of death from the mutant, his brows furrowing together at the somewhat familiar sound, but then his eyes opened wide at the feminine scream that followed. It was his summoner mage.

Kidd pivoted on his heel, whirling around and he stopped and stared, watching the scene almost like it was in slow motion.

Gabriella's spear was in two, one half in each hand as her blocked failed to stop an attack from a mutant though the claw missed her barely since she stumbled back from the force by sheer luck, but then the mutant's other hand came up, going up high above its head and then rained it down upon her. The black claws hooked into the skin of her left cheek and the mutant raked his hand downwards, making the three sharp nails slide over the side of her neck then her collar bone like it was butter and then through the fabric of her dress, right between her breast, the thread undoing to show nothing but red.

Kidd was frozen. He lost all feeling in his body, the sight making him go completely numb. He couldn't move, a voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to move, to go to her aid, but the captain in his mind told him to worry about staying alive himself. So, he just stood there, watching the mutant slash its claws down his summoner mage's form, traveling down to her stomach and then rip them out, making blood pool around her feet as it slipped down her legs. Then Gabriella's shriek filled his ears, pounding like a torturous tune that he couldn't get rid of until his name was yelled again.

"_KIDD!_"

It sounded distance, like a fuzzy thing in the background, yet close at that same time, like it was right there behind him, but that it didn't matter because he still didn't move. Roots seemed to sprout from his feet, growing deep into the ground to keep him planted in that spot. He didn't even move when he felt warm liquid splash against the skin at the nape of his neck. Whoever just called out his name must have saved him from getting slaughtered mercilessly. That made his brows furrow together: why didn't they save Gabriella? Then his brows knotted together more and his lips when into a thin line: why didn't _he_ save Gabriella?

All he did was watch what felt like was slow paced action, his eyes continuing to stare when he saw Gabriella bend over, stumbling around on her feet as she gripped her chest in pain. Her shoulders shuttered and her face twisted in agony as the blood poured down unevenly from her wounds. He should have taken his pepperbox revolver and shot the creature trying to kill her, but his hand felt numb, nothing in them but air, and he just watched as the mutant moved again, taking advantage of his summoner mage's exposed back. The claw went high in the air once more then slashed downward, running his bloodied claws through the thick fabric of her coat and reaching the skin underneath easily. Gabriella arched her back as nails dug down her back, making a soundless cry come pass her lips when the claws traveled their course down her spine and then were ripped out.

_That_ was definitely the time to do _something_, but all the reactions did was widened his eyes when Gabriella went to the ground unmoving.

Kidd felt something twist in his chest sharply and his hand flew there because the pain actually felt like something just ripped a chunk of his heart out. "G—" he choked on the words, they just wouldn't come out. He shut his eye tightly, his body beginning to tremble and he had no idea why. Why was he feeling this way? Was it because his summoner was…_dead?_ He had seen death; it was not something new to him. Maybe it was because of his feeling towards her, but he just _liked_ her, he knew he shouldn't have felt this way…unless he didn't just like her, but rather…

His eyes shot open and he gasped at the sudden realization coming to mind; this could _not_ be happening. He snapped his head to look back at Gabriella, feeling dread pour down on him like a storm as he gazed at her still form, but it wasn't still.

She _moved_.

Her hand was pushing against the ground, forcing her body away from the ashy a rumble underneath her form, taking her chance to get back up when the mutant turned its back.

She was still _alive_.

That was enough for his world to feel like it wasn't going to cave in on him and it started to speed up as well, his senses focusing on the battle, the sounds of fighting clashing back into his ears, along with his name being yelled for a third time.

"_**KIDD!**_" It was Killer's harsh voice from behind him, and that was all Kidd needed to hear, knowing that something was advancing towards him and he whipped out his dagger, the blade gleaming dangerously twirled it between his fingers quickly and then plunged it into the head of the mutant that coming up into his blind spot.

He growled darkly, baring his teeth almost like a rabid animal and he shoved the blade deeper until it would no longer move, making his dagger stuck. He snarled, placing the heel of his boot to the wide eyed corpse's chest and kicked it away roughly, the skin of its head making a sloppy, sputtering sound as his blade was removed from the skin. The lifeless body went to the ground before his feet, crumbling down like it was a nothing but a fragile paper with skin and bones and then he turned back around, his eyes scanning over the field until he locked onto his summoner mage to make sure she was alright.

Then his eyed opened wide at what he saw. "**Gabriella!**" He screamed to her, but there was nothing words could do to stop the mutant that had hurt her to come back to finish what it started. Kidd scowled, rage boiling up inside his guts and his hand quickly going to his revolver since his pepperbox was either misplaced or dropped, but then he felt the stinging pain swell in his left arm again, though this time hundred times worse. "_Fuck_," he hissed, his fingers twitching against the damaged skin of his arm. "_Not right now!_" he gritted through his clenched teeth.

The pain swarming through his body was too much to bear and it forced him to shut his eyes, and he didn't know if that could be considered a good thing or a bad thing. It was either he lost sight of the battle or lost sight of the end for his summoner mage. His mind didn't choose a side though, his mind was just waiting for the moment where he would hear the last thing Gabriella would say: a wordless scream.

The scream came, but it wasn't his summoner mage, but rather the something more animalistic, which make him use all his will power to crack his eyes open just a bit too see what was going on, but his image was blurry and all he saw was gold.

That confused him, forcing him to close his eyes once more and then he shook his head, pushing aside the pain his body was feeling roughly to the back of his mind and he reopened his eyes slowly to get a better picture of what was going on, but then they snapped open wide.

The mutated marine was engulfed in a fire of golden flames, spinning and spiraling around it and if Kidd looked close enough, he could see that there was something causing those flames, and those something looked like flaming gold bats going around and around in a circle to cause a typhoon of fire.

Kidd's brows furrowed together, and he scanned the field quickly, ignoring Killer shouting at him to get his head in the game: Kidd knew that Killer wouldn't let him get killed. So Kidd was free to look over everything, trying to figure out what caused it since more and more golden beings seemed to be sprouting up to aid his crew in battle. He knew it wasn't Gabriella since she was still struggling to get up off the ground, and he noted that as soon as he figured out where the gold animals were coming from he would help her out. If it wasn't Gabriella that left only Madeline, but she was off at the sidelines, standing behind Jacques as they both took cover so that the bomber could get as many explosions out as he could.

That made Kidd's confusion levels go up even higher: who was summoning all these animals surrounded by golden flames?

"_Holy fucking shit_," he heard someone curse behind him, and he looked around to see Bedros standing there in shock, his jaw going slack as he stared off in the distance.

Kidd looked at the stone devil for only a moment and then he followed Bedros's gaze and when his eyes locked onto what it was, he felt his own jaw going slack as well. "_What the fuck?_"

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><p>There was a constant <em>click, click, click<em> as a single person walked down the halls, the tiny sound echoing off the walls and ricocheting further down the large chamber's narrow walkways until the pillars in the distance seemed to wave with the soft sound that passed by, almost like a harp does when being played.

Then the clicking stopped abruptly, the constant note ending with a loud stomp as a heel dug into the marble flooring in shock. A gasp followed after and the owner of this feminine voice was none other than Talia, the council member for summoner magic of the magical island _Regnum carcere._

She looked behind her, the flutter of her white robes dancing with the sound of her heels chattering against the floor and she stared into the far distance at the feeling she swore she would never feel, but she master warned her of this feeling of powerful magic and what must be done.

She never thought that _this_ day would come, yet it had, and she needed to tell Grandmaster Rilon as soon as possible that a dark danger was coming back to the world.

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><p>A flash of quick wind rushed passed her long black hair, making it slip over her shoulder as she was walking along the beach of her home on <em>Regnum carcere <em>while she wait for her gem to regain all its power. Calamity blinked, flipped the lock back over her shoulder before looking behind her in confusion. That magical presence felt familiar…yet—

Another blast of wind came pounding against her form, almost strong enough to knock her over, but she stood strong, an arm going up to shield her face and a foot going back, digging into the sand to brace herself.

Once the wind stopped, she lowered her arm, staring in the distance with a slight frowned. She knew_ this_ day was coming…but she never thought it would be _this_ soon.

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><p><em>He<em> looked like _her_. It seemed so impossible yet it was what it was; the man standing off in the distance had looked just like her. The same ginger hair, gleaming with an orange tint as the light from the fires around him burned brightly and the long pointed ears that pointed came from the shaggy locks that framed the man's face. The same caramel colored skin tone that had a soft golden glow from the wisps of gold magic snaking around his body like tentacles and the same colored eyes that were hidden slightly from ginger colored bangs; bright gold that burned with an emotion that Kidd could not name.

The red head just stood there in shock, staring at the man that looked just like Gabriella. He knew for a fact that she said something about her having only these traits in her family, so who was this mystery man that was aiding them in battle?

"_Oh, fucking shit…_" the voice of the stone devil behind him drew him away from looking at the mage in the distance, and Kidd looked around to see that Bedros was trembling, shuffling back ways as if trying to run away, but from what?

The next thing that came out of the stone devil's mouth answered that question completely.

"_It's Caden._"

* * *

><p>Cliffy...<p>

Well, anyway. On a happy note! I drew a picture of Gabriella and Kidd! :D

Go check it out at the link below:

# / d50r2qx


	41. Chapter 40: My Words to You

Wrote this chapter on my Ipod this weekend by a lake, plus the next two chapters of His Heir. I feel so proud. :3 So anyway, I hope there isn't any big mistakes that I missed while editing; typing on an Ipod is a lot different than typing on the computer. That's for sure.

Son of Whitebeard: All good cannon ideas, but not quite. The mutants came from foreshadowing in early chapters, but Caden's return has to do with something else that will be explained in this chapter.

Alpenwolf: I don't like the Hunger Games, personally I think it's kinda...stupid. Sorry for all those fans out there, but people have been talking about it non-stop, which turns me off to the idea of the movies and books.

Neeky-chan: There are a lot of reason to why Caden appeared? That's for you to decided after reading the chapter. :)

Fun fact:** I'm editing chapters 1-10!** I think those are my most hated chapters because I believe they are forced and the point of view flies all over the place. I have so far edited chapter one and working on chapter two. I was planning on editing them sooner, but with school I didn't have time. School is over now so I have all the time that I need, so I hope that they will be better. :) I made some major changes, though the plot is still the same, of course.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 40: My Words to You.<p>

Caden stood there silently, his black robes flowing in the winds with the flickering flames at his sides. He brushed away locks of shaggy ginger hair from his view, allowing him to watch over the battlefield littered with his golden, glowing creations that were fending off the countless grey colored mutants as the pirates collected themselves to make a quick get away from death.

The animals he conjured were made of pure magical energy; something that was difficult for any mage to master. To form magic into a solid shape that could fight with a mind of its own was something that took years on constant practice, but he had mastered it at a young age when he was still alive, and it had become something he was known for by all.

People would always say that _Mortalitas_ had blessed him with power and knowledge, making him a prodigy, a genius, and back then, he would have agreed. He realized that was not the case though, that he wasn't just given this gift out of kindness, but for a reason. The God of the Dark Arts had a plan in mind for him which was a big one: he would be the one that helped change _Regnum carcere._

_Mortalitas_ had told that him in a dream, but it wasn't him personally that was going to change the island rather it was going to be his off spring, Gabriella, and that is why he was at this battle over a hundred years after his death.

The Dark God had granted him permission to leave the realm of spirits to aid her, to make sure she stayed alive for his plan to continue rolling on because she was the one that would help the island rid itself of Civil War. She was by no means the 'chosen' one since _Mortalitas_ had countless men and women before her, and even before Caden himself, but they all had failed this test. That is when the Dark God had to change his ways from choosing one person and telling them to take on the challenge, that is when he spotted Caden himself, and _Mortalitas_ changed his plans to something more...complex to defeat the devil Copy Cat.

Caden, when he was still alive, didn't know the Dark God's full plan and he was furious that the prophecy didn't come true. Then to add to fact that he thought he failed in his destiny, he had to watch from the spirit realm as generations of his family were pinned as traitors because of his crimes. He didn't want to see that, just couldn't bare to see his son, his grandchildren then great grandchildren go through the stages of bullying until it got out of hand, almost going to death.

So using what little magic he was still granted after his untimely death by the gallows, he placed a curse upon his own son when he was old enough to protect the generations to come; taking the traits of ginger hair, golden eyes and pointed ears from them, just blocking those genes from shining through, and it was all fine. No one that passed by could see that they were of his bloodline unless the people knew their surname: Roland. Then...then something happened. A girl was born, and she looked exactly like him.

He didn't know how it happened. He knew that when a curse was placed upon someone by a person beyond the grave, it was almost impossible to break it. That was when _Mortalitas_ came to him, saying that he had countered the curse.

Caden was floored; he never was trying to be evil with the curse, it was for their own good. He had placed a hex on his family, his own blood so that they wouldn't be prosecuted for the crimes he alone committed. He would admit that it wasn't a fool proof plan since people did find out and they were judged, but it wasn't as bad as is could could have been. Also, he knew that the Demon War wasn't entirely his fault, but rather Copy Cat since the devil had sunk his teeth deeply into his desires, twisting them to get what the devil wanted, but still; as a grandmaster he should have known that devils don't keep their promises in the way they attend to.

Caden got what he deserved: a hanging.

_Mortalitas_ had simply told him that he was going to be the one that was going to end the devil reign of terror and also told him that he was going to change it, and he had; he started the line of Roland blood that would rise up and fight the devil, but...as time went on _Mortalitas_ said that another mage would be joining the conquest to stop the devil from taking more innocent lives.

Copy Cat seemed to have found a...loophole, escaping the magical force field the Dark God had created to keep the devil in and causing mayhem to the outside world. Who that was, Caden did not know, but he did know that he needed to save Gabriella from this unexpected attacked that reeked of Jafar's enchanters magic. The minor deity of magic was being problematic with _Mortalitas's_ plans to rid the world of a deadly problem because he wanted to save his younger sister from the eternity of sleep that Crazy Sane had placed her under decades ago because she caused a terrible sin in the magical being's eyes.

That was something that _Mortalitas_ and _Lucerna_ could deal with since she was the one that ruled over Jarfar, his main priority was saving Gabriella and the crew she was traveling with from harm.

Caden finally stepped forward, taking his mind away from his inner thoughts and put focus onto the battle that was still raging on between mutants and pirates allied with his creatures. He stepped over corpses of mutants and pirates alike, a hand at his side glowing gold once more, but not to summon another creature to fight, rather his weapon: a black steel sword.

It was a weapon he crafted himself before he was given the title of grandmaster by the Godden Elders. It was a powerful sword, only those of his blood could even touch it; anyone outside his family could not touch it unless they liked to have punishment placed upon them based on the six essences that were embedded into the hilt. Each essence harbored a demon, a deadly hellion creature he captured when he was traveling through the realms of hell for over two years. Capturing these demons was actually what impressed the magical council of gods enough the give him the title of grandmaster; a fourteen year old capturing an A class demon on his own was a very impressive display, now times that by six.

Though the only reason he captured these demons was because _Mortalitas_ said he would change the world, so in truth, he was young and cocky, which made him travel to the hells to see where his destiny was. His destiny was and wasn't there... his destiny was to meet Copy Cat among the realms and also his death that would plant a seed in his off spring so she would have the passion to break free of the invisible bonds the council had the family locked up in for over a century.

Gabriella was that child to open that locked cage, and Caden was not about to let her die now or anytime soon. She would fulfill her destiny.

He walked across the battlefield calmly, his sword easily cutting done all enemies in his path like butter, blood splattering against his black robes, staining them a slick color of crimson that matched the red decorating the skin of his cheek. This battle was like child play compared to other fights he was in when he was young; Jafar needed to improve his hexes if he wanted to actually cause_ real_ damage. Though it was probably _Lucerna's_ fault that Jafar was weak, she _was_ the weakest out of the three gods that watch over _Regnum carcere_. Neither was _Mortalitas_, _Terra_ was the strongest, but power means nothing if one does not know how to control; like Gabriella.

Caden watched over her since the day she was born, he couldn't do anything though and all he could do was watch, and he knew what she was doing; hiding her traits, hiding her magic. It was something she shouldn't been doing, sure he placed a curse upon his family to lessen the taunts and stares from people, but Gabriella was different. She was _his_ heir, the one _Mortalitas_ had chosen to try and stop Copy Cat from causing evil chaos to their island or worse, the world. She knew this, she knew she needed to kill Copy Cat, but something was off about it.

She said she was proud, but she did not prove it. He felt like she was all talk, saying she would bring honor back to his name, to the family. True she fought those that tarnished his name wrongly in her eyes, yet she hid herself from the world because she was afraid.

She was fearful of what the council would do to her if they found out she was growing in strength, that she was outside their watchful eyes, that she joined a pirate crew with a pirate that wanted to become king. He knew the council would kill her if they found out because they would assume the worst and not the fact that she was in truth saving them all from devilish torture. But she needed to move past that and move on, she may have the mind set that she is only on this mission because of him, but it was to bring Copy Cat down, nothing more.

He finished his stroll across the ashy battle scene, his feet halting in the soot and stood before her. The girl was covered in blood, her hands clutching the gashes running down her chest, and he was surprised that she forced herself into a sitting position, resting back on her heels despite all her wounds.

She had a look of shock on her face, froze like stone except for the small trail of tears coming from the corner of her eyes. Then her lips began to quiver as they slowly parted. "Ohdan..." she croaked, emotions thick in her soft voice.

He couldn't help but smile down at her; it was the first time he had been able to see his family so close. He was denied passage to see any other of his descents after they passed on, so seeing one that was still alive was like a gift to him. He held out a hand, his fingers touching her cheek and he felt the warm tears slipping down.

The look in her eyes told him that she was going to spring from her spot on the ground, ignoring all her wounds to embrace him, but he pulled the hand at her cheek away, holding it up between them to stop her She was obedient, halting all movement and remained seated on her heels with an expression on her face that he didn't like.

He frowned at that expression, a look of rejection crossing her features, but he shook it off and continued on, opening his mouth to tell her what needed to be said. Nothing came out. His eyes opened wide and a hand went to his lips, he couldn't speak. His energy was lower than he had thought and now all he wanted to say was going to have to stay on hold while he used what he had left to get the more important things out.

The grip on the hilt of his sword tightened and he twisted it in his hand so the blade was pointing towards the ground then he lifted it higher into the air and then plunged it into the ground between him and her.

She first looked at the blade, tilting her head in confusion as she gazed at the dark colored steel and brightly colored gems decorating the hilt.

"**Gabriella!**" A rough voice called from behind her, making her turn and look over her shoulder at the red head coming towards them.

The man had major wounds on his left arm, but thanks to his golden creations killing all the mutants around the battlefield, the man was able to pace himself so he wouldn't cause more damage. Though he still walked with a purpose, and if the coat around the man's muscular frame wasn't obscuring his view, Caden would have said that the man was running to Gabriella, even when the masked blonde trailing behind him was screaming at him to stop. But the man looked like he had something on his mind, that something dealing with death since the man had it burning in his eyes.

Caden wasn't scared, he was already dead; there was nothing that could kill him now, but his time on earth was coming to an end. He could feel all his magic being drained with every minute he stayed there, slipping away to nothing. He looked down at his hand, seeing that it was losing form and color, allowing him to see through it, and see the new expression on Gabriella's face: a look that screamed for him not to go away, but he didn't have enough energy to stay longer. He didn't even have enough energy to say all that he wanted to, but he was able to utter one small phrase to her before he disappeared.

"_Be proud,_" was the only thing he was able to say on a ghostly whisper that only she could hear, then he faded in the wind.

* * *

><p>I guess you could call this chapter important filler?<p>

Also, I hope that Gabriella isn't going into the Mary-Sue category because she has the title of 'the chosen one', because I know sometimes, if not done correctly, it's bad.


	42. Chapter 41: New Scars, New Life

This chapter is oh-so fluffy to the point that Kidd of course, is OoC...like always. OoCism is such a bad habit of mine...

Anyway, **I have edited chapters 1-11** and I really think you should go back and check them out. I added and fixed a lot of things. Now, I'm going to edit the rest of the chapters, but only for grammar issues rather than fixing the whole chapter, you know?

akagami hime chan: Gabriella does have a complex about her ears, I guess you can say that, though I never mentioned anything abouther singing...I think that could have been another story. I know that my story _Bones_ has a little part where the OC(Ameria) says she's not a good singer. I don't know if you read _Bones_, but if you did, maybe that's where you got it from.

AFantasyBabe: Caden does care about his family, and will do anything to protect them from harms way, and Kidd probably is traumatized, but he does a really good job of hiding it.

Son of Whitebeard: I feel guilty to admit that I didn't know what 'masterstroke' meant, but I looked it up and I went _awe~_ So thank you. :)

Neeky-chan: Yes Caden's time was short, but don't worry; it's not the last time you will be seeing Caden, I know that for a fact. ;)

Alpenwolf: How Gabriella feels about it all will be explained in this chapter, but the sword, well, remember: Gabriella could be considered a weapons master (reference from the Four Pillars chapter), so Kidd doesn't need to really teach her how to use a sword, if he even knows how to use one. Though there are magical elements to the blade, literally. So, she will need to learn about that from none other than her teacher(spoiler!).

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 41: New scars, New life.<p>

Gabriella leaned against the railing of the ship, staring up at the sails, ropes and netting that hid the stars from view. She sighed deeply, but then regretted the movement when a flash of pain ran its terrible course up and down her spine. The feeling made her shutter, and the sting lingered there even after the initial stab. She frowned, looking down at the bandages wrapped around her torso and the large gauze pad that went from her left cheek, down the side of her neck, ending just under the bandages at her chest. Out of everyone that survived the attack, she got the worst wounds next to Kidd who was starting to lose all feeling in his arm. So she was the first that Doc looked over then Kidd and then rest of the crew, putting the small child to the sidelines until everyone else was taken care of.

That reason actually made her mad since the battle lasted long enough for Doc to fully treat the boy, but he said had other things to attend to before looking at the boy.

So she had to take it into her own hands after Doc finished with her stitching and bandaging up her wounds, though Doctor Dick warned her that if she moved too much her stitches would open up, but she was worried more about the skin and bones of a boy in her arms rather than her own troubles.

She only knew the basics on medical treatment like dressing wounds, but she didn't think that the boy had anything major because if he did he would probably be dead already. So she took him to Kidd's bathroom since it had a tub and placed him in there so she could clean all the grim and blood caked to his fragile body to see what she was dealing with. She didn't have to worry about Kidd popping in by surprise since he was in the infirmary with the rest of the crew, watching over them like a good captain did, so she was free to wash the boy, scrubbing him the best that she could without hurting him, though he didn't show any feeling if she did cause him pain. Then she dressed the small cuts around his arms and knees with band aids she took from the medical kit in one of the drawers under the sink, and she saw that he didn't have any major injuries just like she thought, only minor things that could easily be dealt with. Though, now she needed to worry about the shivering, naked boy standing in the middle of the bathroom with a large blue towel wrapped around his frail form.

She couldn't help but smile lightly; it reminded her of her kid brother back at home, though he probably wasn't a kid anymore. He was going to be entering his preteen years soon, which made her frown. Three, now four birthdays missed...she shook it off, worrying about her task at hand: finding something for the boy to wear.

That led Gabriella to hunt through Kidd's closet drawers, opening everything up...and believe it or not, the man had _shirts_. She didn't muse over this tiny fact and just grabbed the first one she saw, hurrying back to the bathroom and pulled it over the boy's head. The thin black shirt looked like a dress on the child, but the boy didn't complain about it, like everything else she had done, but now she needed to worry about the child that was dying of starvation before her.

She had to get some food into him, but the cook was currently in the infirmary along with all the other survivors, so she had to scour through the kitchen to find something for him on her own since she didn't want to do anything involving her cooking or causing a mess. She tour apart the place and she was thinking that maybe just cooking something would have been easier, but she was already knee deep in looking for something and that's when she found something: a bag of smoke fish. Not the tastiest treat for a child, but it was protein and the kid needed it, like a lot of other things.

He didn't want to eat it, not because it was smoked fish, but rather because his stomach wasn't used to food. She had to play mother on this one, which was something she never expected to play anytime soon, especially on the Kidd Pirate's ship. She stood there with her hands on her hips, ordering him to eat something in a stern yet firm tone and the boy did as he was told, but his meal only consisted of a few small bites and sips of water. She considered it to be fine; she didn't want him to throw up everything he just got down. Still, it would have been better if he ate more, but she didn't force him and just sighed, picking him back up and his arms wrapped around her neck instantly as his head went to the crook of her neck. She patted his back and took him to her room that she shared with Madeline and then put him to bed, and the tired little thing went to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

She left the room after that since Madeline and the boy were both out cold and she wasn't really tired yet after everything that happened on the island, which was why she went out onto the deck to think about it.

_Be proud_.

Those were the words he said to her. She didn't understand though; she _was_ proud. Why shouldn't she be? She was proud to have the nick name known as _'Caden's Heir'_ and it's not like she lied about it. She was happy when she was called a Roland in school, despite what the other kids would say, whispering that she was part of the family that split the nation. They didn't know the truth though, only the select few in the class did which were Calamity's elite, the Four Pillars. She had always been proud and stood up for her family name. So why would her ohdan tell her to be proud when she already was proud?

She sighed deeply, closing her eyes as the sea breeze rushed through her hair; it was so confusing.

"Gabriella," her name was called, making her reopen her eyes to see Kidd walking over. His left arm was in a sling, limp and lifeless as it hung at his bandaged chest and he had pad gauze over the left side of his face that traveled down to cover most of his shoulder.

It must have been painful, but Kidd showed no sign of it as he continued walking, but at least he didn't have to get stitches, unlike her. Doc stitched the long gashes along her chest and back, and it took everything in her to stop from crying; it was just a painful process she would make sure she _never_ went through again, but she pushed aside the troubling thought and turned her mind back to reality.

Gabriella looked back at Kidd, seeing that he had gotten closer and she held out her arms, feeling the muscles of her back and chest shift uncomfortably, but she ignored it, letting her fingers brush against the bare skin of his sides as he stood in front of her. She would have hugged him, but it would have been awkward with his arm slung to his chest.

"How are you feeling?" He questioned casually, but his eyes held concern, which was a rare sight to see, as they gazed over the bandages decorating her body.

"I'm fine," she answered, hooking her fingers into the waistband of his pants, tugging lightly to make him step forward so their thighs touched. "How are you?" She returned the question, her eyes glossing over the small cuts along the muscles of his lower stomach.

Kidd just shrugged. "Fine," he answered, looking over her head to scan the dark waters of the sea. "Doc said he will find the antidote for my arm once he finishes looking over the crew. He said it was poisoned, making it numb a bit, I can still move it though," he said, moving his left hand as proof. "But he said that if I move too much the poison will spread and it that happens I'll either die or he cuts my arm off." He frowned at the thought. "So I said I wouldn't move it, and hopefully it doesn't spread as fast like with the others."

"How is the crew, did they get poisoned as well?" She asked; she had left with the boy before she could check up on rest of the crew.

"The ones that survived don't have it, but the ones that did die before Doc could treat them," he replied with a deep frown. "We are going to need to recruit after this is over; more than half the crew died after that attack."

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said softly; she really didn't know what to say.

Kidd just sighed, tilting his head back as he closed his eyes. "It's life. They knew there was going to be a possibility of them dying, and it came," he told her, looking back down so that his eyes gazed over the sea and the corner of his lip twisted into a weak smirk. "Ironic though that the ones that lived were from the South Blue and all the ones that died were recruited back at Paradise," he mused dryly. "Just shows who's the toughest, huh?"

"So Madeline and Bedros are alright?" She asked.

"Bedros has some flesh wounds on his chest, nothing big," Kidd responded simply and shrugged, but then his face twisted into a sneer. "But Madeline didn't get a scratch on her because she was hiding behind Jacques the whole time, and he is the only on that can get away with that because he is a long range fighter."

"She just isn't as good with magic compared to me, though…" She paused, biting her lower lip in guilt. "I didn't do all too well because I didn't use magic…" she whispered, a hand touching the bandages at her chest.

He didn't comment on her soft words and just changed the subject. "Has the kid talked yet?"

Gabriella shook her head. "He hasn't said a word, maybe in a few weeks he will."

Kidd looked back down at her, his brows furrowing together in confusion. "Weeks? I need to know what went done at the place so I know who to murder for killing my crew," he told her, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

"He went through a traumatizing event, Kidd," she told him calmly, placing a hand to his chest. "It's gonna take time."

Kidd just grunted, rolling his eyes mildly and then focused back onto the ocean once more. "You should be resting," he said, bringing up another topic for small talk.

"Look who's talking," she looked at him in amusement, adding a small amount of pressure to his chest. "I think you should be resting just as much as I should."

"Then let's go to bed," he told her quickly, and it made her think that it was why he came out in the first place as he grabbed her hand and pulled, but she didn't move away from the railing.

"I have too much on my mind to go to bed," she responded, craning her neck back to look up at the wind nudging the sails lightly. It was true, the small chat they had did bring her mind away from it for awhile, but the thought of going to bed with her confusion on what her ohdan was talking about came flooding back. She wanted to clear her mind before she even thought about sleep.

Kidd stepped back towards her again, bumping gently into her thighs. "What's up?" he questioned, looking down at her curiously, his fingers slowly twisting to weave between hers.

Her initial reaction would have been to tease and tell him _the sky_, but this was a serious moment that shouldn't be taken as a harmless joke. "He told me to be proud." She said gently, a frown crossing her lips.

Kidd's brow rose. "Who did?"

"Ohdan," she answered quietly, it still had that surreal feeling attached to it, to think she saw him face to face. That was probably the thing she should have been thinking about; she saw her ohdan in the flesh, but his words were sharp, cutting into her conscious so she could barely think of other things.

"Ah, that guy," was all Kidd said, letting her continue.

"I am proud, I'm proud to be from his bloodline," she started, her emotions getting the better of her and she started to squeeze Kidd's hand. "I don't know why he told me that, I've always defended his name, told people it wasn't his fault, everything that a proud person would do. So why would he tell me that?" She questioned, looking up at him for an answer that she couldn't come up with.

At first, she thought he wasn't going to answer or say something that wouldn't help, but that wasn't the case. It looked like he was actually going to help, and that made her feel a bit better about the situation.

"Well," he started then paused, his lips going into a thin line as he thought it over. "I think he's right," he told her with a shrug.

Yeah, all that warmth she was feeling turned to fury in a snap, making her glare at him darkly. "What do you mean by _that?_" She questioned tightly, her nails starting to dig into the skin of his hand.

Kidd ignored her rage and went on with his explanation. "It's like you're talking the talk but not walking the walk. You say you do all these things, yet you hide yourself; you always wear that hood to cover your ears, hair, and eyes since you look just like him. You don't use your magic because of this council you are hiding from. You're scared; fear and hiding doesn't go with being proud," he ended his mini speech with a shrug.

Gabriella just stared up at him, her jaw going slightly slack.

Kidd blinked at the look she was giving him. "What...?"

"I think that was the wisest thing you have ever said," was all she said.

Kidd glared at her. "Are you calling me stupid?"

Gabriella shook her head, chuckling lightly under her breath. "Smart and wise are two different things, Kidd," she answered, going onto her tippy toes to give his lips a small peck. "So that means you're both," she smiled.

Kidd huffed. "You just saved yourself from another bruise," he informed her.

Gabriella chuckled lightly again. "By saying you're smart or because of the kiss?" She mused.

"Hmm," he hummed then a smirk crossed his lips. "Both," he answered, but before she could respond back, he pulled at her hand, making her step with him away from the railing. "Now let's go to sleep."

"Alright, alright," she laughed, twisting her grip in his hand so that she was comfortable and then wrapped her other arm around his.

Kidd looked down at her in amusement. "Getting clingy now aren't we?"

Gabriella scoffed. "You know you like it."

Kidd let out a short laugh, and for the first time since she had joined the crew, she saw him smile normally, nothing twisted or devilish, just a normal smile. She didn't know it was possible.

"Yeah," he answered. "I guess I do."

* * *

><p><em>Fluffy~<em>...yes.

_OoC~_...yes.

Worth it?

Well anyway. Stories always have the crew never have deaths, no matter what the battle is, but let's face it: life is not like that. So, since this fight was out of the blue for the Kidd Pirates, I think that it would be a good idea to have a bit of reality sink in. Plus this is helping me with the next part of the story of what Kidd will do. I'm excited for you people to see. :) By no means is it cannon, and it probably will _not_ be cannon, it just seems like a thing Kidd would do in my mind, you know?


	43. Chapter 42: Marines on Deck!

**WARNING: THIS HAS M RATED STUFF IN IT, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT, GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, less adult stuff is there.**

So, I bet you can tell what is going to be in this chapter and I will not lie: it's a lemon. I actually didn't want to do a full lemon, so I tired to do it as implied(that made the chapter really short), then I tried flashback(terrible idea, don't do it), thus leading to this chapter, but then the day after I finished the lemon scene, the **FF scare** is announced and I was like '_Come on! Really?_', though a lot of more **_M_ **rated stuff is still out there, from what I see, and I had my beta for_ Bones_(bless her soul) read over it and she said that it's not as bad compared to some other kinky stuff on here, so she said that a warning should be okay, hopefully.

HeyItsThatOneChick: Ah, thank you for liking that chapter,(chapter 16) it was rather fun to write. :).

Trafalgar Riley: Three some; all I got to say. :D And I'm glad that you like Caden's character, even though he is kinda...dead, but he will be back! In a long time, but he will be back!

akagami hime chan: Gabriella and Ameria will meet, sooner or later. Due to mass editing in Bones, I have been pushing that date back many, many times. They will, though it will probably be a while now, but they will! Trust me.

AliceLaw: I'm glad you like my OoC Kidd, I have a feeling that Kidd will be OoC forever in my story, but don't worry he will still murder every soul that looks at him the wrong way and his sailor mouth will remain. As long as Kidd doesn't stop his short temper and killing habits, he should be okay.

mukii: Your English is fine, and thank you for thinking Kidd is cute. :)

AFantasyBabe: Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but Kidd does have shirts. :D

Alpenwolf: Because you asked: **READ CHAPTERS 1-11!** :3

Son of Whitebeard: I guess having Kidd face so many deaths adds a bit of realism to the story, huh.

Neeky-chan: Kidd is a smart guy, if you look at former chapters about the books he has in his room, then you would be like (o.O) _dang... _

HotManMeterGirl: Thank you for liking the fluffiness, and also Happy Early(?) Birthday!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 42: Marines on Deck!<p>

It was like déjà vu for Kidd again, the feathery feeling of finger tips brushing against his skin, but this time it felt so much more..._sensational_, like a sexual sensation that his desires wanted to act upon. He tried to put it out of his mind though, both he and his summoner mage were battered and bruised with stitches after their fight with the mutant marines; having sex on his mind was just..._bad?_ He couldn't believe he was thinking that, but he was; it just wasn't the time for it, right?

So he just stared up at the ceiling of his room, thinking of anything besides _that_ to get his mind off of _it_, and _that_ was so many things at the moment. He shook his head, _no_, he wouldn't think about it, but...his mind continued to back track to the fingers running gently across the muscles of his lower stomach, the skin between the bandages wrapped around his chest and the waistband of his pants.

Gabriella wasn't doing it on purpose, he could tell by the innocent expression on her face that she was half asleep. She was curled up against his right side, and at first, her hand was over his numb one resting against his chest, but then her hand slipped from his, going down the bandages so her fingers rippled over his muscles hidden by the thin white cloth until it reached the bare skin of his lower stomach.

He knew it was subconsciousness that was guiding her, but if she was _this_ seductive when she wasn't thinking about it, he didn't want to know when she was. Oh wait. Yes he did; because he really liked the feeling of her hand moving across his skin. It was a feeling he got used to quickly and found he enjoyed, but what he didn't enjoy was the fact that it was a terrible tease.

It made heat swarm in his core and just the feathery touch was enough to make him rock hard, causing him to fidget as he waited for her hand to mindlessly head further south...but it never happened. He had given up hope on that happening and he was just going to tune out her touch, if that was even possible, but then her fingers did slip under the fabric of his pants, touching the warm, hidden skin. His breath hitched, and he groaned.

Gabriella felt the sudden change from his body, feeling his muscles grow tense and she groggily came out of her half-asleep state, her hand going even further down his pants, her fingers brushing against his erection. The throbbing of his member against her palm snapped her to full awareness, especially where her hand was, and she pulled it away, slipping her hand out of his pants and she started to mumble an apology, but he didn't let her finish.

Something inside him snapped.

He growled, pushing away from resting on his back and rolled over on top of her and he slipped his injured arm from its sling, feeling a tingling sensation run through his veins. He ignored it, grabbing her hands and lacing his fingers with hers then pinned them above her head on the pillow.

He watched the look of shock cross her features as he loomed over her small form, but his eyes scanned her body. She was covered with bandages, wrapping all around her torso to hide the stitching that Doc did to her hours ago. He remembered the look on her face as the needle threaded the course string through her skin: pain. He thought she would have been embarrassed since two men were staring at her chest, both for different reasons of course, but she showed no signs of the emotion during the surgery; only pain. That had made Kidd look away in slight, believe it or not, guilt that his mind was dreaming up fantasies while she was in agony.

Now though, she didn't show pain on her face, but rather a stunned look that caused her unbandaged cheek to beam a bright red. He couldn't remember the last time she blushed, but he would actually admit that he missed it and he leaned into her, kissing that crimson colored cheek, his lips feeling the warmth from her skin instantly.

"Kidd..." she said his name slowly, and he pulled away so he could look her in the eyes. She had an anxious expression on her face now, and he noted that she was having trouble looking him in the eye. "Are you okay?" she questioned, fidgeting from under him. And the movement may have been small, but she ground her hips against his.

He groaned at the feeling, the feeling of her body grinding against his arousal, and he continued with the rhythm of hips rubbing up against each other, the touch just turning him on even more to the where he didn't even notice his left arm was shaking from over exertion.

A moan came from her, the seductive pant driving his want even higher to the point where he wasn't going to be able to control himself. He started to kiss her senselessly to release some of the pent up tension, the roughness forcing her lips to part so his tongue could worm its way into her mouth and he felt heat rush through his body as his tongue slid against hers. She moaned again, the sound muffled by the kissing and Kidd felt his control running through his fingers like grease as his body started to tremble.

He pulled away, taking a small breather while he was ahead and then stopped the movement of their hips rubbing together. He told himself this wasn't the right time, but he had a feeling that his body wasn't on the same page. And neither was Gabriella.

She started to fidget once more, causing the grinding friction to continue, but her pinned hands limited her movements. "_Kidd..._" she whined lightly, her chest rising and falling heavily to regain oxygen lost after the harsh, drawn out kiss.

He stared at her chest, his eyes locking onto the motion and he had the sudden urge to just rip the god damn bandages away, and that stupid gauze too. But she needed them, he knew she would get an infection if they were taken off, especially if the stitches came undone, and he was as sure as hell that they would after what they were bound to do.

Kidd wasn't about to stop now, no matter how wounded they were. He _wanted_ this, and he knew that she did just as much.

His gaze traveled down her body, over her breasts across her bandaged stomach until his eyes reached the mid drift between her shorts waistband and the bandages, and Kidd saw that their...grinding session caused the fabric to slip down, showing more skin, but hiding too much in his opinion. He uncurled his fingers from her hand, letting his fingers brush over her skin, the bandages, more bare skin until he reached the fabric of her shorts and tugged on the waistband, pulling them down and away.

Now on a natural instinct, she curled her legs to hide, but Kidd stopped that, jamming his knee between her legs on his own instinct.

She blushed a darker shade of red when she saw him staring at her with hungry eyes and he quickly shimmied out of his pants, making her face swell the darkest shade of red when she saw his manhood out in the open.

Kidd thought she was a virgin by the way she was acting, but that didn't matter to him right now and he positioned himself, resting between her legs and locking his hand back with hers, pinning them above her head. Then he entered her, his control finally lost.

She gasped at the sudden thrust, her back arching slightly to make their chests bump and she closed her eyes when a shutter made her body shiver violently. "What? No foreplay?" she rasped, letting out and uneven breath.

Would it be a bad thing to say that Kidd really didn't do a lot of foreplay? He didn't know; his sex partners before Gabriella were whores he raped. He wasn't looking to please the woman, just himself.

Though now was _definitely_ **not** one of those times, and he actually paused, his member buried deep within her, debating whether he should do foreplay. It was pointless though since he was already in, plus he watched her face twist with impatience that he stopped moving, and then she started to fidget even more, trying to cause some sort of friction to produce pleasure.

He chuckled deeply at the reaction, making her stop and glare at him in return, but he made up for it by giving her another bruising kiss on the lips again. His tongue running passed parted lips to dance with hers, and she moaned, but then her breath hitched from the lack of body movement, making her legs shuttered against his sides. She was getting annoyed with it, Kidd could tell, but he decided to call this is own form of foreplay, but in the end it was just torture for the both of them.

His body started to get fed up with his stillness, and began to natural move out then back and he started a slow pace of thrusts. He didn't know for sure if she was a virgin, so he was gentle, and that was something he really didn't know how to do, since he was never gentle with women before Gabriella. So he figured that going slow would help her to adjust, but the slowness was like..._torture_. His body screamed at him to pick up the pace, but he held it back, just in case.

She didn't like it, the pace. "_By __Mortalitas's Dark Name_, Kidd," she grumbled in annoyance, but her breath was heavy as she pulled away roughly from their heated kiss. "You're a slow fuck."

Those words were like a key that opened a new door for him, and he reacted by growling, smashing his forehead into hers and picked up the pace, going faster and harder, making her eyes open wide as she inhaled sharply at the sudden change.

The growing pace was starting to affect his left arm, making it quiver violently to the point where he had to notice it because it was like a bright red dot in the front of his mind. He fixed the problem by unpinning her hands and then snaked his left arm under her slightly arched back, allowing it to rest as his right arm propped up on the elbow for support.

Her arms free to move, she wrapped them around his neck, her nails starting to gently claw his shoulder blades. She buried her nose into the crook of his neck, her breath bathing it with warmth, and the heat from having her so close caused a thin layer of sweat to build along his skin.

He mimicked the action, dipping his head down to her neck, but then he started to nip at the skin, his lips feeling the rapid beat of her pulse. His ear caught her voice through his panting, hearing her whisper his name and then he felt her legs wrap around his hips.

It was a sign of affection that Kidd never felt; other women would struggle to escape or lie there helplessly and cry. Gabriella was different from those women, for one he wasn't raping her, and two she actually _wanted_ him to do this.

It made him falter at that thought, burying in deeper than he had before and it made her scream his name, her finger nails digging marks into his back. He thought for a split second that he hurt her, but she didn't start crying, but panting heavily, a look of pleasure gracing her features.

Kidd hit the spot, and something inside egged him on, to do it again because he wanted her to scream his name like that once more, but he couldn't hit it again. It became an internal, personal war with himself to find it, causing him to go faster than before so that he went in deeper.

Gabriella's breath hitched higher with each thrust until she was gasping for air. Her nails dug into his skin mercilessly, but he ignored the pain and continued through, feeling her legs tightened around his hips. Her whole body was tense, like she was clinging to him for life, but then Kidd felt her walls closing in around him. More friction was made and she screamed again, his name coming from her lips as her nails clawed tiny blood trails along his back and her back arched until her head touched the pillow.

Her tight grip around him went limp as she released and he felt a spike of adrenaline rush through his veins, kicking him back to finishing for his own release. He felt her legs slip from his hips and her arms went limp around his neck, making him move away from breathing harshly into her neck so he could look at her.

She looked exhausted, her eyes half opened as she stared at him with a glazed over her golden irises that were hidden slightly by locks of ginger hair sticking to her skin. She was panting, breathing unevenly so her chest would brush against his before falling down with each exhale then rise again when she inhaled.

The state she was in was enough for him, and with one last thrust he groaned, his body withering when he finally released, and he also hit her sweet spot once more.

Her half lidded eyes snapped open wide, the glaze disappearing to something that looked wild, but then they closed tightly as she let out a cry, her body shifted as it shuttered from the feeling and then she fell limp in his grasp again, her eyes fluttering open half way again.

Kidd groaned again as he pulled out and then rolled from off of her, resting on his back. He turned his head to the side, looking at her, watching the profile of her body, alive with movement as she breathed deeply, but then he noticed the tint of red glowing in the moonlight from the window and he frowned. Her stitching must have opened. He sighed, there was nothing that could be done about it now, so he just snaked his left arm out from under her and the placed his hand on her unbandaged cheek.

This caught her attention and she rolled over onto her side, her hands cradling his with a smile.

He blinked at the reaction, but then his features softened as his thumb began to brush against her skin, and he opened his mouth to say what had been on his mind for awhile, but then he clamped his lips shut and turned away.

He couldn't say it.

He felt weak for not, but he just brushed it like dust under a doormat for something he would come back to later, and he just closed his eyes to sleep.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Kidd!<strong>_" A voice screamed, waking him from slumber.

Kidd jolted, shooting up into a sitting position, ignoring Gabriella's yelp as the mattress shifted under them violently and he looked at the door: Killer was on the other side, pounding on the wood, all in panic.

"_**Marines on deck!**_" His first mate shouted and then the pounding on the door stopped, but the sound of his heels hitting the floor followed and the disappeared.

"_Fuck!_" Kidd hissed, hearing the sounds of battle in the background; the marines were little fuckers, attacking them when they were outnumbered and weakened due to injury. This was _not_ going to be good. He hurried to find his pants that were kicked to the end of his bed, throwing off the covers and picked them up then jumped into them quickly. His ears picked up on Gabriella moving behind him and he turned around seeing her struggle with getting into a sitting due to her untreated, reopened wounds.

"Stay," he ordered, pulling up his pants so they sat firmly on his hips.

"Wha—" she started to say, but he cut her off.

"_Stay!_" He repeated harshly, never looking around to see the look on her face as he darted towards the door, opening it quickly and then dashed down the hall until he was on the deck.

He didn't waste time with looking at the battlefield; he didn't need to judge the odds because he knew they were against him and his crew. He started with using his devil fruit power, the purple sparks pulsing from his hand, but then a shot of pain came from his left arm, making him grind his teeth. Doc was going to be pissed with him for not listening.

He shoved the thought aside and he continued to use his devil fruit, causing confusion and mayhem among the marine ranks crowding his deck, but then he couldn't take it anymore.

His arm felt like it was going to burst into flames, exploding into little pieces that just made him want to rip it out just to rid himself of the painful agony. He never felt so much pain in his life before.

"**Kidd!**" it was Killer again, his voice was harsh and telling him that a marine was in his blind stop.

Kidd couldn't move though, the pain and exhaustion on his body was just weighing him down.

"**KIDD!**" Killer screamed again, his first mate noticing that he wasn't about to move and he heard the sound of heels running towards him.

Kidd waited, musing dryly to himself about what was going to happen, and he could say that he was surprised with what did happen.

There was a hazy gold glow from the railing, like something was in the water, and then that something jumped, landing on the railing quickly and Kidd stared. It looked like a fishman, but yet not. It was too animalistic looking to look like a real fishman that had more of a human form, this one was more like a frog that could stand on its hide legs rather than sitting on all four. With slippery, sea green skin that was decorated with sharp spikes that looked deadly to the touch, it jumped from the railing, opening its mouth to reveal sharp teeth that were hidden behind thick lips of its piranha-like head.

The creature jumped over him, and Kidd's head followed, watching it rip the marine's head from the man's shoulders. Blood splattered against his pale skin like a wave. His eyes wide with shock, not because of the gory death, but because there was more than one creature like this on his deck, fighting against the marines for his wounded crew.

What little marines that were still alive hopped back onto their warship after too much blood was gone and the captain of the military vessel screamed it was time to retreat.

Then the deck was eerily silent as his crew eyed the sea creatures warily, but the beings had no interest in them, but going back over the edge of the ship, jumping back into the water with the golden glow.

His brows furrowed together, golden glow? Madeline? He looked around the area, seeing that the thin summoner mage was no where in sight, but then his eyes locked onto Gabriella, wearing her shorts now and dripping blood from her bandages as she leaned against the wall of the ship's cabin. She used her magic to fight the marines; that was a change, and big one.

There were cheers after that, because the crew now noticed that it was the summoner mage that saved all their skins, but then it stopped when Doc Dick emerged from the doorway.

He was smoking his cigarette, his brow twitching angrily and then all of a sudden he took the cigarette from his lips and threw it to the ground, slamming his heel onto it and scream: "_You're are all little fucks, I hope you know that!_"

* * *

><p>The clicks of his heels went on and on as he walked through the halls of headquarters, filling rather smug. Even though one of his warships was destroyed by the feared pirate captain Eustass Kidd, he had a feeling of pride swarming him because he had wonderful news to tell his father, but first…<p>

He looked down the hallway, seeing his enemy in the marines leaning against the wall, reading a medical book as he did so. He smirked and walked towards him and mocked: "Reading up on your mistakes again, _Justice?_"

The Rear Admiral scowled at him, his hand on the spine of the book curled so it shut with a loud slap, and he returned the taunt: "Your daddy done bribing people so you can get your promotions, _Jonathan?_"

Jonathan snarled, glaring at the lower ranking officer. "Just because I can get to Vice Admiral in six months doesn't mean my father bribed anyone. It means I'm a better marine than you, _pirate sum._"

"Just because my brother is a pirate doesn't make me one," Justice counted coldly.

"It does when you help him, I know you have been, Justice," Jonathan accused. "Why else would you not have been able to capture the mage?"

"I wasn't able to capture Bones because I underestimated her," Justice retorted tightly. "Even I can admit that."

Jonathan scoffed. "As much as I love to talk about your mistakes since you make so many of them, I came here to tell you of something I found."

"You mean gloat," Justice corrected, pushing away from the wall to get ready to leave.

"My men found another mage," Jonathan announced smugly. "And it's a summoner one, you know those are rare."

Justice just rolled his eyes and turned on the heel of his shoe, starting to walk away.

Jonathan was quick on his trail and continued. "And I know she is powerful as well," he added on.

"Really," Justice droned.

"Yes, really," Jonathan mused. "Because she is a member of the Kidd Pirates."

Justice stopped, snapping his head towards him in shock. "Are you really going to go after her? Kidd would kill someone like you in a heart beat."

Jonathan scowled at him darkly. "Remember who's the higher rank here," he sneered.

"Remember who got there rank the right way without bribing," Justice replied.

Jonathon huffed in offense and turned away, he had better things to do than argue with his sworn enemy, like start thinking up a plan to capture his new target.

* * *

><p>My first lemon ever. It was weird to write, I will not lie. Probably isn't good, but eh. It's the first one.<p>

And look! It's Justice! xD The little Kinky man, kissing women and than controlling them, that sly dog.


	44. Chapter 43: Closer

A long chapter...yay...I like this chapter, it was fun. Now, the things said in it are **not** cannon and it's just what I think Kidd would do as a pirate, you know? Just kinda...came to me. :)

motherloosegoose: _Awe~_ your review made me feel so fuzzy inside, I'm glad that I inspire you. :)

akagami hime chan: I LOLed (in a good way) when I read you little bit about Justice. I'm sure most girls feel the same, you are just the only one that said it out loud. xD Though, I'm confused whether you think my lemon was kinky or not...it doesn't matter if it is or isn't, it was just, I don't know, confusing?

arodli91: Thanks for the lemon love(I know that sounds **so** wrong), and yes, it's Justice!

Alpenwolf: Gabriella is no longer hiding, you will see that in his chapter. Now, I have no idea about the arc you are talking about. The one after Skypiea was with the Fox Pirates(?), when they challenged the Strawhats. And I totally made up Jonathan for evil purposes that you will soon see. :D

Neeky-chan: Going after Gabriella when she has Kidd as her boyfriend is pretty stupid. He will leave a trail of death, fire, and blood just to find her. _So romantic~_ :3

Animelover007: I'm glad you saw that because I made it intentional, so when Kidd and Law met up, I can have a conservation like this:

Law: I heard you have a mage on board your ship as well.

Kidd: Yeah, and she's a good fuck.

Law: ...you screwed her already...

Kidd: Yeah, didn't you do yours?

Law: ...*storms away in raging embarrassment as Kidd laughs wildly at the look on his face*

:D

AFantasyBabe: Thank you, and I know it was awkward, but eh.

HotManMeterGirl: Maybe, maybe not.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 43: Closer<p>

"_Hmm…_" Gabriella hummed, twisting the glass sphere between her fingers gingerly, inspecting the craftsmanship of the work. It was done well, she could see that. The line where the two halves of the sphere were sealed together wasn't even noticeable, she had to spend a good few minutes trying to find it. With a small nod and smile, she held it up, making the sun's rays glare through the glass so the light blue designs tinted the skin of her cheeks and nose. It looked beautiful; a perfect crystal sphere to add to her collection.

For the past three months, she had been collecting little glass spheres, just as little keepsakes; kinda like what a child would do with snow globes. It was her way of remembering an island before she left because she didn't know what it would look like when she got back. Using marine warship routes that they stole awhile back, Kidd was able to use a lot of the routes that the military used to get from point A to point B in days rather than weeks. Kidd found that to be beneficial because he started to make his mark bigger in the New World than ever before by claiming islands to be his territory. Other pirates, from the older generations that is, didn't take him seriously and tried to take what was labeled his, but using those marine routes, Kidd put them in their places.

And on top of that, Kidd was starting to make his own army; a fleet of ships under his command so that he didn't have to single handedly look over all his newly acquired territories. Though…Gabriella didn't like to think, much less talk about it; it left a somewhat bitter taste in her mouth. Not that she disapproved of what Kidd was doing; she just didn't like his choices in allies…and crew for that matter. Oh, don't even get her started on the men that he recruited after the battle at the marine base, there was only one thing that they summed up to be: horny little bastards. She's surprised that Kidd hadn't shot them all yet, but maybe because Killer advised him that it wouldn't be the best idea to shoot every man on the crew that slapped her ass when she walked by. Admittedly, she could fend for herself and just kick a few groins to get them to wither away, but they were like pesky snakes that always slithered back, no matter how many times you kicked them away.

Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes slightly, letting the small breeze brush past her skin and finger through her ginger hair. She shivered slightly as the wind kissed the exposed skin of her torso; she still wasn't used to the new clothing she made, but hey, it was to show that she was Caden's Heir and also to show the world that she was a proud member of the Kidd Pirates crew.

It was about a week after the battle and she was standing in front of the mirror, looking over herself and she decided to do it, so she used the small, bloody purple dress she had worn that day, cutting and ripping it until she got something that would show off her scars proudly, so everyone would see them. Though, she wanted to add something else to the shirt so that it would…flashy in a sense. So, taking her destroyed fur coat, she cut that up too, using it as a collar that held up the flimsy, vertical pieces of fabric that covered her chest, most of her stomach and sides. When she tried it on, she admitted she felt like a hooker, so she wiggled out of the shorts she usually wore and put on a pair of fitting black cheeks to cover more skin, balancing her out a bit so she felt less like a whore.

But when she looked in the mirror, she glanced down at Musket's reflection and wondered where on earth she was going to store him for safe keeping. She didn't know, so her familiar stayed on the ship for the time being, as long as she didn't get miles and miles away from the ship, then she should be fine.

After that, she looked herself over one last time before going off to Kidd, to try and cheer him up because the man was miserable after what happened, but her new revealing outfit did nothing for him.

She had never seen Kidd look so depressed before, though he would never admit it, but she could tell since he would always look to the right, never glancing down at the bandaged stub where his left arm used to be. The poison spread in the blood of his veins like wild fire after the fight on deck, and Doc said the only way to stop it before it reached his heart was to cut it off. She wanted to stay in the room with him, for moral support, but Kidd wouldn't allow anyone in, maybe because he didn't want anyone to see him in such pain; the screaming told the crew that much.

After that Kidd didn't say much, but Gabriella was determined to do something that would make him in old self again; quiet Kidd just wasn't her taste. So, she thought of things that would cheer him up, making a mental list and went down it, doing everything she could think of, but nothing worked. All Kidd wanted was his arm back. Well, she couldn't make him an arm; she didn't just have arms lying around.

Then it hit her, she _did_ have an arm lying around, a mechanical one that is. So she scurried away to find the thing that she left in her former room with Madeline and plucked the cyborg's arm from the chest at the foot of her old bed and hurried back to Kidd's room, jumping on his lap and put the metal arm to his left side, asking if he felt better now.

That was the first time in days she saw him crack a grin, it was weak, but it was there.

It took a few islands to find a man that was able to place the mechanic arm onto Kidd, and it took some convincing too, but Gabriella used her…female charm to get the strapping young man named Nicholas to agree, and he even agreed to join the crew to help with updates on Kidd's arm because she used a bit more of that…female charm. It was only a wink, and it wasn't like Kidd wasn't there, plus he knew that she was doing it for him…or at least she hoped so. Kidd could be a bit…possessive. Okay, so a lot, actually, but that wasn't the point, the point was that Kidd was able to get his left arm back.

He bounced back to his normal self after that, and she was happy to see the loud, obnoxious, violent Kidd back; it was more fun to tease him that way.

After that one little…_scare_ she found herself teasing Kidd almost on a daily basis now. It was a little over a month after that night she and Kidd had sex, and she woke up in the morning, running to the bathroom vomiting her stomach out into the toilet. Her sudden departure from bed made Kidd a bit anxious, but when he saw her in the bathroom throwing up in the morning he could stutter one thing:_ morning sickness_ and he bolted from the room. How a man like Kidd knew anything about morning sickness baffled her, but he did and the next thing she knew he was dragging Doc in by the collar of his medical lab coat, ordering him to check if she was pregnant or not.

Doc just stared at him blankly then he simply said that they needed a pregnancy test to do that, which is something that he did not have for he did not think that any woman would be getting pregnant on the ship, **ever.**

So for three days, Gabriella watched Kidd panic like there was no tomorrow because he thought he knocked her up, but on the fourth day of Kidd's panic fest; she announced that she got her period, thus ending Kidd's freak out special. Though, humorous as it was, this wasn't the thing that caused her to constant pick at Kidd just for kicks and giggles, it was later in the week when they got to the next island and Doctor Dick returned with his supplies, baring a large cardboard box in hand that he shoved into Kidd's arms, then the doctor reached into the pocket of his medical coat and slapped a bow on it, saying:

"_A present from me to you and Gabriella, open it in private_," and then he turned on the heel of his boot to walk away, but then he stopped and added: "_Don't use them all in a day._"

Kidd looked down at the box in confusion, but then turned his attention towards her, jerking his head towards the doorway that led into the ship so they could go to his office and see what it was. Once in his office, he placed the box on his desk and slowly opened to reveal none other than _condoms_, and damn, there looked to be about a million of those suckers packed in the four walls of that box. Then suddenly Kidd slammed the box shut and looked away, but Gabriella gasped at what she saw on his cheeks.

She scrambled up, jumping onto him so her legs wrapped around his hips and she struggled with getting him to look at her, but when her hands finally cupped his cheeks, she asked the question that Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd **never** wanted to hear: "_**Are you blushing?**_"

Kidd's raging denial was hysterical in her mind, and that is why Gabriella always teased Kidd; she thought it was funny to watch him blush, though it was rare to get him to do it, but when she did, it tickled her pink. It also tickled Bedros pink, but...he wasn't on good terms with Kidd. So when he laughed at the look of red on Kidd's cheeks, bullets went flying.

She smiled gently at the memory, twisting the small glass sphere between her fingers, and then she sighed. She needed to hurry up and get moving, the ship was supposed to set sail soon and Kidd didn't like to be kept waiting, but when she started to move her hand so she could get the money to pay the man at the stall for the glass sphere, she felt someone walk up behind, pressing their chest flush against her bare back.

She knew who it was, but she did a mental check list, just in case, starting with the firm set of muscles rubbing against the skin of her back that gave her that fuzzy feeling of warmth and protection on the inside: _check_.

Then she looked up, seeing the fear in the man's eyes as he trembled behind the table at the stall: _check_.

"Getting another one?" The deep voice from behind questioned, the tone causing a slight shuttering that made her shiver as warm breath whispered into her ear: _check_.

Then the mechanical palm rested on the wooden table top as a pale one snaked around her stomach, fingers gently brushing against the scars just above her navel: _check_.

It was Kidd.

She relaxed easily into his chest, snuggling up to him and enjoyed the warmth from both his body and his new red coat; it was rather chilly on the island, not enough where she was freezing, but enough to be considered cold. "Yeah," she finally answered him, craning her neck back so she could see his face. He still looked the same, though his hair had grown out a bit and the scars on the left side of his face made his demeanor look darker, more deadly, but that didn't affect her. Believe it or not, Kidd had his sweet moments, whether he knew he was being sweet or not.

"I see," was all he said, but then he continued. "We are about to leave, I came to get you. Are you getting that one?" He then questioned, jerking his head lightly towards her fingers holding the glass sphere.

"Yeah," she repeated, going back to get the money out of her pocket, but before she could even move, Kidd threw the quivering man hiding behind his stall the money then walked away.

She should have known by now that he was going to pay; he always did. It was, like, the only thing Kidd paid in full for. Other times he would threaten for a discount or getting something free, no matter what it was; beer or supplies. He was just a cheapskate like that, except for when it came to her glass spheres; she figured it was just a guy thing.

"Gabriella," Kidd called, slight annoyance in his voice because she wasn't moving.

She hurried along, jogging lightly to catch up to him and slipped her hand into his, letting their fingers intertwine, and she had that feeling that they were getting closer in a way. It was strange, but true.

* * *

><p>Kidd groaned, resting his elbow on the surface of his desk as he began to rub his temples in frustration, waving the receiver of the den-den mushi in his other hand. "Can't you at least try and fight them, Donavan?" he questioned the man, Donavan, on the other end of his call.<p>

"_We can_," Donavan answered and by the tone Kidd just knew he was shrugging his shoulders.

Kidd just sighed then grumbled: "Do what you can, you lazy fucks," he knew for a fact that Donavan's crew could take over the little bit of island that was under Big Mom's control, they were just being drunk bums saying that they couldn't do it because they would rather drink and sleep with whores. Why couldn't he be like Owen or Block? They would jump onto the chance of taking down territories under a Pirate Emperor's name, but not Donavan.

The only reason why he kept the man as one of his commanders in his fleet of ships was because he was good with recruiting other crews into joining under the Kidd Pirates flag, other than that the man pissed him off. He flirted with Gabriella _way_ too much, that was the biggest thing he hated about the man. Though, Owen was able to keep the peace, maybe because he was the senior in the group and always remained calm no matter what happened, even when his first mate-slash-wife wanted to kick his ass for joining Kidd's army. The woman tried to kill Kidd 'accidently' with her boomerang blades on more than one occasion; if it wasn't for Gabriella's portals sending them in another direction, Kidd would have lost his head the day he met Owen's wife. Besides the fact that the man's wife wanted him dead, Owen was a valuable ally because he had been sailing in the New World for years, which really helped.

Then there was Block. He was all muscle, no brain and Kidd to this very day is still wondering how on earth the brute became a pirate captain and made it into the New World, unscratched. It was pure insanity.

"_Alrighty Boss_," Donavan acknowledged his orders, snapping Kidd from his inner thoughts, and he was about to say something in response, but then Donavan added on with a snicker: "_And tell the beautiful Exotic Scarlet I said hello, will ya? She never-_"

Kidd promptly hung up the den-den mushi after that, not even allowing the man to finish his sentence. He _hated_ that god damn nick name the fucking marines gave his summoner mage; it made her sound like some stripper, and he did not like other men looking at her like _that._ Even random men that were sober and drunk alike would look at her with lust swarming their eyes because of what she wore; it left little to imagine. Though the worst part was the whole world should know that _she_ was _his_ because her fucking bounty poster had them _holding hands_ for pity's sake. It was focused more on her, her head turned to look over her shoulder as if someone had called her from behind as she was walking along side him,_ holding his god damn hand_.

Yet men still flirted with her and it sure as hell didn't help when his own crew did it, too. Well, the newer half did, the older half that has known Gabriella for over a year didn't weasel in on her, trying to release sexual tension. He really wished he could kill the lot of them, but Killer told him not to because they needed them; they were sailors that had been in the New World for years and they knew how to avoid the dangers or how to overcome them. So, Kidd didn't kill them, but he let Gabriella do what she does: kicking them all in the place where the sun don't shine, not that it stopped them. They treated it as a game, the morons, but he had to live with it, like he had to live with the fact that everyone called his summoner mage _Exotic Scarlet_.

It was like a sick pun, the marines taking her appearance and labeling it exotic because of her pointed ears, her alluring golden eyes and the revealing outfit that exposed her caramel colored skin. Then they had the nerve to add Scarlet because of her six scars: three that went down from her left cheek to above her navel and then three that went from the nape of her neck all the way down her spine.

God, he _hated_ that name…

"You don't look too happy," a voice told him, and he looked up from the papers on his desk to see his summoner mage shutting the door to his office as she walked in. "What's wrong?"

"A lot of things," he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned back into the cushions of his seat.

"Want to talk about it?" She questioned, smiling as she strolled over, walking around his desk so she could lean against the edge he was sitting at, close to his chair so he had a full view of her exposed scar running along her stomach. "Talking about it will make you feel better."

"Sounds like something a girl would do," he scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in mild defiance.

She chuckled at that, looking at him in amusement as she rested the palm of her hands on the desk's surface behind her. "Maybe, but guys can do it, too, you know."

"I'd rather not," he informed, slouching in the cushions of his seat even more until his chin was almost touching his collar bone.

"Fine," she huffed, pouting lightly at his resistance to talk to her. "Be that way," and then she pushed away from his desk and turned to leave, but Kidd wouldn't let her go that easily.

"Stay," he ordered, grabbing her hand and pulling her so she was sitting across his laps.

She yelped at the sudden jerk backwards, her legs kicking up lightly as they awkwardly bounced against the armrest of his chair. "Don't have to be so rough, you know," she commented, leaning forward so she could rub her back from where it made contact with his metal arm, pinching the skin.

Kidd just shrugged. "You shouldn't have left then," he told her. "Just because I don't want to talk about my problems doesn't mean I don't want to talk at all," he said, tucking a strand of ginger hair behind her pointed ear.

"_Hmm_," she hummed, shifting to adjust her sitting position so she was straddling his hips instead of laying across him. "What do you want to talk about?"

"That sword," was his answer, placing his hand in front of her face so she could see the burn scars that the weapon caused him when he only just barely touched the hilt of it.

She sighed, closing her eyes lightly. "Nothing new yet," she answered, taking his hand and cradling it to her cheek. "I know it's Ohdan's sword, but how to use, I have no idea. Madeline and I were looking through books trying to find something, but all we found out is that when anyone but me touches the sword then they get hurt," she explained, turning her head to kiss the palm of his hand. "Madeline almost burned her hand off, too."

"She deserves it," Kidd commented, he was still miffed about her hiding during that battle three months ago.

Gabriella sighed again, shifting in her position again so she was resting her head against his chest. "Don't be so mean," was all she said, snaking her arms past the fur of his red coat so her palms pressed against the bare skin of his back.

Kidd responded with a grunt, letting silence follow after. His hand went to her back, allowing his fingers to run along the scars and he glanced down, looking past her ginger head of hair to see the long red marks lashed through her skin. It was strange; he would have thought that she would flinch when he touched her scars, but she didn't move an inch, he could even say that she relaxed when he touched them. No bad memories seemed to surface when he did that, and it must have been something that she didn't let them bother her; maybe it had to do with her ohdan visiting her that day, telling her to be proud and that's what she did.

Everyone knew about her, Roland Gabriella or also known as Exotic Scarlet, member of the Kidd Pirates with a starting bounty of 30 million that went up to 190 million in only a matter of months. Though it was nothing compared to his, which was 800 million, and Killer who had 430 million, but still, it was a big jump for only three months.

"_Kidd!_" There was pounding at his door as Killer called through it lazily. "_Enemy ship coming up!_"

Kidd smirked, pushing back from his desk and he wrapped a firm arm around his summoner mage before standing up, his thick boots clicking against that floor. "Looks like we have a fight to get through," he whispered smoothly, placing Gabriella on her feet and then stalked towards the door where the sounds of battle were closing in on his ears.

He stepped out onto deck, seeing the rival pirate captain screaming at him about how he was apart of the worst generation therefore he must die, but he only grinned at the threat, holding out his arm so the purple sparks of his devil fruit caused the cannon balls lounging in their piles on deck started to shutter violently as they hovered high in the air. Then he sneered through his wide grin: "_Repel_," and the cannon balls went zooming off towards the enemy ship.

Then his gaze turned to his summoner mage, seeing her smirk as gold engulfed her hands and small portals zipped opened, allowing creatures covered in fire to appear from the multi colored vortexes that opened. The devils giggled wickedly, sharp teeth pointed out like blades as they darted across the sky to the cannon balls, clinging to them as they soared away to the enemy ship and when the flaming balls of lead hit the wood, that unnamed pirate crew was no more, only a blazing heap of fire floating on the surface of the water for the time being until it sank to the sea's depths.

The crew started to cheer, jeering down at the survivors that jumped in the water, and Kidd laughed along with them, but then he stopped when he felt something slip into his hand. He glanced down, seeing that Gabriella was holding his hand, a smile on her face as it glowed in the fire's light, and he smirked, turning to his summoner mage and cradled her chin with his fingers, telling her: "With you by my side, I'm getting closer to One Piece more than ever before."

* * *

><p>Jarfar stood there, arms folded behind his back as he stared up at the process of the portal being made. Since they could only get two of the three large diamonds that belonged to Trolley, he had to use magic to fuse the other smaller diamonds that his minions found; he anticipated something like this would happen, so he came prepared for the worst. Though, soon the time to open the portal would be complete and he would have finally finished his goal.<p>

Placing a hand to the smooth surface of the giant red crystal and mumbled: "_Soon I will set you free my dear sister Genie, the time it drawing closer than you think._"

* * *

><p>Closer, closer, closer. We are getting closer to a lot of things, though the end is very far.<p> 


	45. Chapter 44: Newsflash

AFantasyBabe: Kidd does a lot of OoC things in my story, but giggling is where I draw the line. Kidd does not giggle, no matter how drunk or in love he is; he is a man god damnit! Men don't giggle. Oh, and if Oda does have something different with his arm, then oh well, I'm keeping it the same because just looking at the little picture of Kidd, I'm pretty sure he lost his arm, just saying.

Alpenwolf: Ah, okay, that makes more sense now. Kidd in panic is a funny picture, I was planning on doing a whole chapter of Kidd panicking because he thought that he knocked up Gabriella, but I thought that it would be a bit of over kill, so it was only a little memory instead.

motherloosegoose: Thank you for liking my idea for how Kidd loses his arm and I'm glad you like my idea of Kidd making his own fleet. It just seemed like a Kidd thing to do.

akagami hime chan: Kidd does have his sweet moments, like that chapter where he was going to say something to Gabriella, but I won't say what. I will not spoil.

Son of Whitebeard: Genie actually grants only one wish, but I will not say what. Again, I will not spoil.

Neeky-chan: Gabriella is no longer hiding, but that causes a bit of trouble for her now...you will see in this chapter.

Animelover007: What happened in to the little boy will be explained in his chapter. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 44: Newsflash.<p>

"_T'was brillig, and the slithy toves,_" Gabriella sang lightly, folding the clothes into the basket sitting atop the washer and she continued. "_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: all mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe_," but then she stopped, shivering lightly. She glanced down, rubbing her bare thighs and arms briefly. She was so used to wearing her other outfit that changing to shorts and a tank top for the day was different, but she ignored this and just started to hum quietly, reaching for more clothes from Daniel, the small boy they had picked up on the Marine base island three months ago.

He started to speak a little bit, but only a few words to certain people; like her, Madeline and Doc, even Killer sometimes. They got some information out of him: that he was eight years old, lived with his mother, sister and father that was a Marine, but he left only a day before the attack at the base happened. That was all that they could get out off him before he began to cry, rubbing his watery blue eyes that were shielded by his shaggy blonde hair.

After that, he never said anything and was overall quiet; pretty much an innocent boy. Though, whenever Kidd saw him, he said that Daniel looked like Killer when he was a little kid…and it must have been true because the whores at the bar would always ask if he was the masked blonde's son…

Killer didn't really like it, especially when Madeline would chime in about being the mother...

That aside, the crew really didn't bother the child since he was either glued to her hip or hiding out in his room, but even if the crew paid no attention to Daniel, the boy was still terrified; he felt like he went from Freddy to Jason in only a matter of seconds. She was his safe heaven though, except when Kidd came around then Daniel would either: a) run away or b) burying his face into her stomach and hope Kidd would vanish, which he did because Gabriella would shoo the red head away so that Daniel could dash away to the safety of his room. Kidd found that to be annoying, _extremely_ annoying, but the summoner mage easily ignored him and went on doing what she did on a normal basis. Like doing her laundry; well, she was also doing Kidd's because 'apparently' they were on the relationship level where they shared a room, bathroom and she did his laundry, but she did _a lot_ of things to do for Kidd, but _that_ is another story.

She was folding the laundry with Daniel sitting on the washer between the pile of clothes and basket, and he helped by handing her a new garment so she could fold them. Musket was also helping her too, but he ended up falling asleep in the basket under all her neatly folded clothes; she would just have to dig him out later. She continued folding clothes and placing them on top of her familiar while humming, but then she started to sing once more.

"_Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!_" She sang, smiling at the memory of her parents that taught her this little tune. "_He took his vorpal sword in hand: long time the manxome foe he sought—_" She paused slightly, watching Daniel suddenly jump down from the washer, but she didn't pin it as anything and started to sing again. "_So rested he by the Tumtum tree, and stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood…_" but then the boy slipped his form between her body and the washer, burying his face into her stomach, and as he did this, she mumbled: "_The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, same whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came…_" then she stopped, remembering the boy only did that for one reason. She whipped around and stared at Kidd.

His coat was gone, showing off the muscles of his bare chest and mechanical arm as he leaned against the doorframe of the laundry room, his brow cocked with amusement of catching her in such a scene that made her turn away quickly with a red ginger blush rising to her cheeks. "What was _that?_" He questioned, and she heard him walk further into the room.

"Nothing," she snapped, refusing to look at him as she felt him getting closer because of the grip around her from Daniel's tiny arms tightened. "And you're scaring Dannie, so go away," she tried to shoo him, but it didn't work.

Kidd turned her around suddenly, forcing her to come face to face with his board chest and his mechanical fingers plucked Daniel from her body and then he said: "Scram," and the boy did so, leaving the room in two seconds flat.

She rolled her eyes at this and quickly turned back around to finish folding the laundry, ignoring the firm arms that wrapped around her stomach.

"What was that?" He questioned again, resting his chin on her shoulder snugly.

"Nothing," she repeated harshly, her brows furrowing together in annoyance.

"It was singing," Kidd corrected, pulling her closer and she could just feel the smirk as he kissed her neck, his lips brushing against her scars.

"No," she denied, scoffing lightly. "That wasn't singing it…it was poetically speaking because it is a poem by Lewis Carroll," she told him factually.

Kidd chuckled deeply, tapping all his fingers, normal and mechanical, against her stomach. "Well, can you speak poetically for me some more?" He questioned. "I like your voice."

"No," she said quickly.

Kidd sighed, and she felt his hot breath on the side of her neck as he was about to say something else, but he was stopped when someone came running into the room.

"_Captain!_" Someone yelled, making them turn around and look at one of the newer members of the crew skidding to a halt at the doorway. "A busty woman with a devil's mask appeared on the deck out of nowhere!"

The couple stared at them then stared at each other and then slowly said: "Calamity…?"

And that was when Gabriella bolted from Kidd's embrace to the deck in a heartbeat and there standing in a circle of confused men because more than half the crew never met the magical being and the look in their eyes wasn't a pretty one. Lust; lust was the only thing burning in the eyes of the men of the crew that they didn't know Calamity, but that quickly turned to slight disgust because Bedros jumped out from the crowd, screaming _mommy, mommy_ repeatedly as he hugged the magical being tightly. The crew inched away after that, but some of his crew actually _liked_ older attractive women, but when they got close, fear swarmed in their eyes when she used her magic on one of the men that got a little to comfort to her chest. The man from his crew was violently punched in the jaw by a tanned muscular devil with horns poking out from his forehead over his head and down his back where a flickering black tail peeking out from a pair a puffy white pants.

"Sorry, Captain Eustass," Calamity apologized politely, glancing at Kidd through her mask.

Kidd just waved it off as nothing, but then questioned: "Why are you here?"

"I must speak with Gabriella," Calamity answered smoothly, turning her attention towards the summoner mage. "Many things have come up, but I could not come sooner for my school needed to be attended to," the magical being admitted, but then added. "But Jovus is handling as of now."

"_Jovus!_" Gabriella mused, the memories of Calamity's students aid flooded back to her, making a smile crossing her lips. "I remember him," she said dreamy like as she looked upwards, drawing out the memories of how she, George, Madeline and Mason would torture the poor man when they were little and just learning the arts of summoning magic. "That little elf was so fun to tease," and easy, too, but she kept that to herself.

Calamity chuckled, smiling lightly. "Yes, I remember all that he would say when the four of you were growing up," she responded in the dreamy-like voice. "He thought that once all of you were out of his hair that he would be free that didn't change, but also because...something happened."

Gabriella's brow rose, watching the happy expression on her teacher's face change to something that looked rather serious. "Why's that?" She questioned.

"Something happened to your brother, Gabriella," Calamity answered with a frown. "On his thirteenth birthday, more changed than just his age…"

* * *

><p>The class room was filled with rowdy young teens, twelve and thirteen year olds running up and down the rows of wooden desk with laughs and giggles until one boy stopped it all, halting in his tacks and hushing his fellow peers when he heard footsteps of their teacher down the hall. Then all the preteens scurried to their seats, sitting there trying to muffle their laughter as the boy that told them to stop climbed up a chair and balanced a bucket of water on the cracked open door.<p>

"_Wait here_," they heard their teacher outside the door to someone in the hall.

Upon hearing the voice, the boy swiftly used his summoner's magic, his hands glowing gold as a multi colored vortex opened wide and he jumped through and plopped into his seat just in time to see their teacher suffer the consequence of opening the door and having the bucket fall on his head, making the room explode with laughter.

The teacher with the bucket on his head just stood there, trembling as water slipped down his skin and the fabric of his robes, but he just sighed; he should have known this was going to happen because it always did. It was just easier to shrug it off and pull off the bucket, revealing his damp raven colored hair, droplets rolling down the young features of his face and water dripping from his long, pointed ears. "Ha, ha…" he laughed sheepishly with a weak smile. "That's funny kids…just like last time, but moving on. Good morning, class," he greeted firmly, folding his arms behind his back patiently.

That caused his students to relax a little because they didn't get the satisfaction of causing their teacher to explode with rage, and they all frowned while collectively saying: "Good morning, Master Jovus."

Once the giggling stopped and turned to silence, Jovus continued. "I have a surprise for you all, children," he told them with an excited smile. "We have a new student!" He exclaimed, making all the preteens in the class looked around anxiously and whispering in excitement. Jovus ignored the chatter and went on, looking towards the door. "Come on in, oh, and look out for the puddle of water…"

Those that were standing outside the door came in, and the class gasped in awe; it was two member of Calamity's elite group: the Four Pillars. The muscular Mason that stood much taller than his smaller companion George that always had his face covered by his long bangs and mask over his nose and mouth walked in, but there was a three person standing between the two summoner mages, making the class speechless at who was standing before them: a small boy the same age as them, but he as shaggy ginger covering his golden eyes as he smirked widely from pointed ear to pointed ear.

"Why don't you introduce yourself, hmm?" Jovus told the ginger headed boy, smilingly lightly.

The ginger boy scoffed lightly, the smile still present on his lips and he turned on the heel of his foot and then jumped on the desk behind him then turned back to the class, placing his hands on his hips and then proudly proclaimed: "I'm Vinnie, and just like my big sis, _I _am Caden's Heir."

* * *

><p>Gabriella was in shock at what her teacher just told her and she felt her breath was just taken away from her, making her fall. That is what snapped out of being stunned frozen solid when she started to tip backwards and Kidd wrapped an arm around her waist. Once she had her footing and voice back, she spoke. "How is that possible?" She questioned, stuttering as she stared at her teacher with wide eyes. "No one in my family besides me has Caden's traits."<p>

"I know," Calamity nodded, frowning deeply. "There was once a hex upon your family that Caden used so that he could protect you from harm of the world from his mistakes, but…" she drifted off, shivering slightly. "I sensed that Caden came from the land of the spirits to the living, and I feel that the hex was broken enough to affect your younger brother." She explained.

Gabriella pressed her lips into a thin line. "I see…" She said slowly, but then she asked: "This isn't what you came to tell me, right?" It was something unbelievable, something she didn't think could happen, yet, she knew this wasn't all that her teacher had to say, or maybe that had nothing to do with what she needed to tell her.

And she was right because Calamity's frown deepened. "Correct, this has to do with the Council."

* * *

><p>There was a <em>pitter-patter<em> of rain of the large glass window, rain pouring down by the gallons on the multi colored house below, but then there was the sound of a door creaking open from behind.

"Grandmaster Rilon," the messenger said softly, stepping slowly into the room as she carried a small bundle of papers in her arms.

"What is it?" The Head Councilman questioned, glancing over his shoulder to face the messenger standing the the doorway of his large office.

"It's about Caden's Heir, Grandmaster Rilon," the messenger answered, the flutter of her white robes shuffling as she walked closer, but then the small _click_ of her heels halted when she saw the look on the Head Councilman's face.

His eyes opened wide with rage as his brows knotted together, the flashing of intense lightening crackling glowing against his expression, making the shadows on his face grow to give him a darker look. "_What about?_" He questioned again, but more darkly, tight with fury swarming in his tone as he ground his teeth together.

The messenger shifted back and forth on her heels, feeling uncomfortable and extremely fearful of continuing her message, so she shakily walked closer and held out the first paper in the bundle out to the Head Councilman and it was snatched away by the wind and was in the wrinkled fingers of Rilon in only seconds flat.

The Head Councilman scanned over the print on the paper.

_Exotic Scarlet Member of Kidd Pirates_

_190,000,000 beli_

_Wanted Dead or Alive_

His fingers curling around it until it was enclosed in a trembling fist and then fires erupted as he clenched his fingers until they turned white. "This…" He started, but his rage was so intense that his trembling body forces the very earth to shake from right under him. "_This!_"

"_Grandmaster Rilon!_" The messenger screamed, trying to get him to snap out of his blinding rage.

The Head Councilman then stopped, the fire burning around his hand disappearing until there was only ash in the palm of his hand. He took a few deep breathes in and then out, then he uncurled his fingers to reveal the pile of soot and then he shook his hand, a wind being formed to whisk it away into a small wash bin by his desk. Then he turned back to the messenger, a deep frown tugging at the corner of his lips. "Call a meeting," he ordered. "Caden's Heir must be discussed; she is trying to cause _war_."

* * *

><p>Uh, oh... Gabriella's in trouble now...<p>

Though, I drew a new picture of Gabriella because I fell a screwed up on describing her new outfit, so check it out by looking at my deviantart account found on my profile. Also, I was listening to the wonderful radio and I thought that the prefect song for Gabriella and Kidd is _Stay with You_ by The Goo Goo Dolls. It's just so perfect. :D


	46. Chapter 45: Something Dark

Son of Whitebeard: The Council is going to be hunting them down, that's for sure.

AFantasyBabe: There is going to be no war...yet. Though I will not be ending this story after the two year time skip. I'm going to make a crud version of how One Piece ends; I'm not going to drag this story on for years so that it will be as cannon as possible. It's difficult to describe, so it will just be something you will have to see in the end, but I can tell you that as of now, this will be a 100+ chapter story.

Alpenwolf: There is a reason why I named the boy Daniel, hopefully you will see why this chapter. :D

mukii: I'm afraid that I really didn't understand your review, but I have a feeling it had to do with Kidd being to OoC, and I'm sorry for that...I guess.

Animelover007: Thank you for liking my picture. :)

Neeky-chan: I think my plot is just getting thicker and thicker, and it won't thin until the end. :D

motherloosegoose: The relationship between Gabriella and Daniel is that of a mother and child, now we just need Kidd to be like his daddy...but Killer is like his daddy. _Ah~_ so confusing. D:

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 45: Something Dark.<p>

The new island they docked at was a brittle icy place that was notorious for the mysterious disappearances of women during the late hours of night. The rumors were that odd snow creatures robed in thick white fur would come out from the frosty forests at midnight and drag the women of the village or visitors by their ankle deep within the trees, never to be seen again. Though, this was just a rumor that Killer heard from the old bartender that morning, warning him to watch out for the girls on his crew, but he ignored it because it was just a rumor…and the man seemed to be drinking a bit too much whiskey from the three dozen flasks on the counter.

Also, Killer really didn't care about what happened to Madeline because she was a stalking freak and no offense to Gabriella, but he didn't care about her either, but it was because she could handle herself if she got into any bad situations. She proved that she knew how to ward off anything from devils to demons and even horny men; little 'snow creatures' would do nothing to her. Then there was Calamity. Killer really didn't think anything would come near her, whether it had to do with mythical creatures or something else since she was, like, a goddess of devils and demons alike. No sane person would mess with a person like that…

So, the masked blonde didn't pay much attention to the petty folklore, though that changed when Killer was out one night just strolling through the narrow alleyways by the outskirts of town and he swore he saw a woman at night around midnight being dragged across the snow to the dark tree line in the distance. Of course he didn't do anything to stop the scene when he saw the screaming girl begging for help to anyone who could hear, but he did warn Kidd about it, just in case. Kidd seemed to push is aside though, dismissing it as nothing, but Killer saw that Kidd held the summoner mage closer to his side after he heard that the warnings could be true.

But, that was the only time the masked blonde saw the odd spectacle when he was out late at night just walking around town to get away from the rowdiness of the crew. Just like Kidd, Killer wasn't too keen on the choice of crew members, but they were the best they could find since the pirates sailed the New World for years unlike the older members of the crew. Though Killer and Kidd's problems with the crew were different; Kidd didn't like the lust swarming in their eyes towards the summoner mage whereas Killer didn't like the obnoxious noise when they were either drunk or sober. The old members of the crew were loud, that was true, but these guys just drove him crazy with their constant talking that was on a volume to loud for the masked blonde. It was annoying to Killer,_ extremely_ annoying, so he would try and get away from the unwanted sounds when they were on an island by walking in the quiet parts of town away from the bar where the crew was currently at.

The snow was crushed the sole of his boots easily as he continued to walk, the smell of the sea crisp in the air as he got closer to port and a light breeze fluttering against the skin. He shuttered lightly, the muscles of his bare arms rippling, barely even noticeable to someone if they were watching, but then he rubbed his left arm, the burn marks still glowing a subtle red. His fingers ran over the marks; the scars were the reminders of his fought at the Marine Base, just like Kidd's missing arm, the crews' noticeable scar over arms, legs and chests, like Gabriella's scars.

He pushed he thoughts of that battle aside though, and continued on, but then he heard the faint hum of singing in the distance. Curious of the familiar voice, and song, he walked towards the noise, but then Killer stopped walking when he saw an image of a person sitting on a crate near the docks. It was Gabriella, and Killer knew it was her because she was wearing Kidd's old fur coat over her shoulders, allowing the thick fabric to move with the wind that brushed by them; that was an image he had gotten used to over the years with Kidd.

"Dannie Boy," Killer stated.

Gabriella looked over her shoulder stiffly, like she had something in her arms and Killer figured that it must have been the boy; he connected the dots on that one.

"The song Dannie Boy," Killer elaborated. "My Uncle used to sing it a lot when I was young. It was his favorite tune, though I personally think it's depressing."

Gabriella just shrugged. "It depends on how you interpret it," she said softly. "It could mean something bad, but also something good."

Killer shrugged in return at her reply, but then he continued onto the next order of business. "What are you doing out here?" He questioned, walking closer to her; he knew that Kidd was probably having a panic attack if she wasn't by his side just because of the island's rumors or Kidd was passed out on either: the bar floor, a table, or somehow made it to his bedroom.

Gabriella looked over her shoulder and said: "Same reason as you, probably."

"The crew," Killer answered, stepping up beside her on the wooden dock, feeling the wood creak under his boots and then he looked down at her, seeing that the young boy was indeed curled up in her lap, sleeping away as he used the thick fur of the coat as a blanket. Killer would admit that the boy somewhat resembled him when he was younger, but it was only the hair; the light blonde hair. Other than that, there was nothing in common since Killer was tanned and the boy was pale, but there were other things too, like face structure. And the whores at the bar saying the boy looked like his son was something that always baffled him; maybe the women saw the hair and it was the only connection they made. Though, Killer didn't dwell long on this fact because the summoner mage spoke up again.

"The crew," Gabriella agreed, scoffing lightly and she rolled her eyes as she turned back to looking out at the dark waters filled with icebergs peeking out. "They are annoying as fuck when they are drunk and horny, so I asked Kidd if I could get away for a bit. He was okay with it, but he said I had to go with someone that he trusted, of course, and to stay away from the woods for some reason..." she trailed off curiously.

Seemed like Kidd didn't tell her about the rumors yet, why, Killer had no idea. "Well," Killer started, shoving his hands deep into his pockets to protect them from the cold and then he continued. "You know there are rumors of creatures pulling people into the woods. He's just…worried about you."

"Surprised by that?" She inquired, glancing at him with a brow cocked in amusement.

"Nah," Killer answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe if it was months ago I would be, but you're his girlfriend now, so it was bound to happen sooner or later. How one feels about someone can make people do crazy thing, like Kidd being worried about someone."

Gabriella huffed, rolling her eyes. "Since when have Kidd and I been on girlfriend, boyfriend terms? Last time I checked he's never called me that," she commented.

"You two _are_ on that level," Killer told her bluntly with a rather emotionless tone in his voice. "Kidd, believe it or not, cares about you, so you guys _have _to be on that girlfriend, boyfriend level."

She noticed the tone in his voice and looked up at him curiously. "Is that a bad thing?"

Killer actually thought about it, removing a hand from his pocket and scratched the small beard forming along his chin. "I don't think so," Killer finally answered, shaking his head lightly. "I'm surprised to admit it, but Kidd seems to be doing a good job at keeping his job as captain and boyfriend separate. So it's not that bad actually."

"_Hmm,_" she hummed gently, a small musical note in that tone and then she clicked her tongue. "I guess you're right about that."

"So," Killer went into conclusion. "Don't do anything stupid; I don't want to deep with a panicky Kidd on too many occasions, like the issues with being dragged into the woods rumors with snow creatures and shit."

"Those rumors aren't really true though," Gabriella countered, shrugging and then shifted her hold on the boy sleeping in her lap so they were both more comfortable. "They are actually slavers stealing women for an auction house that's a few islands over. They wear white robes to make it look like they are 'creatures' so that the villagers don't alert the Marines," she informed him factually.

Killer turned at her, staring at her through the mask blankly. "How do you know _that?_"

"I told you that Kidd told me to take someone with me when I left, so I took Bedros with me since Madeline and Calamity are researching Ohdan's sword. So anyway, Bedros and I saw them earlier tonight," She explained. "We were out walking near the edge of town and that's when we saw them steal a girl, so we followed to see if the rumors were true, but that's when they took the robes off and partied at their camp with cages filled with women," she concluded, but then she added: "I did something about it, by the way. I wasn't going to allow a bunch of women be sold as slaves."

"I hope you got something good out of it," Killer commented coolly, but then also added: "And that the people don't know it was a member of the Kidd Pirates that saved them. We don't need others thinking we have gone soft or anything."

"Don't worry," Gabriella reassured, waving a hand to dismiss the thought. "I used my magic to summon something. It's one of the rarer demons out there that aren't evil like most of them; they have a somewhat angelic quality to them, snow angels would probably be a better term considering the circumstances," she mused dryly then continued. "But, besides that, we waited until the women were gone and searched the place. Got a large sum of beli from it," She told him, chuckling lightly. "We went to give the loot back to Kidd and that's when Dannie had a bit of a panic attack, so I came out here to calm him down and—" she paused, shivering violently though there was no wind to cause it.

Killer glanced down at her. "Something wrong?"

"No," she lied, shuttering again, making Killer stare at her quietly. "Okay, so maybe I don't feel so well."

"Getting sick?" Killer asked.

"No," she said slowly, tucking a strand of ginger hair behind her ear. "It's something else; something…magical, like something dark is coming, and…it feels close, _way_ too close."

* * *

><p>"<em>Finally, the time as come<em>," Jarfar proclaimed proudly, stepping into his spot and looked over the mass portal that he and his underlings had been working on for years.

His eyes scanned the area, his gaze following the fine, powdery chalk that formed a circle, the lines running around the area of the chamber then jetting inward from the outer circle, creating demonic designs that lead to more circles until there was no room left. The chalk was an important factor to the opening the portal since it was made out of the leftover diamonds along with enchanted gold to neutralize the effect it would have in summoner's magic. Then, large diamonds were placed in separate places near the middle of the circle; the large gems that they had collected would be the conductors of the energy that would open the portal, but only the magical flame of a pryomancer could heat the gems so they would spark with power. Then once the energy was at its max, a summoner mage could open the portal to the realm that his dear sister had been trapped in for far too long.

"_The time as come_," Jarfar repeated with a smirk, but then turned towards his two underlings. "_Get ready!_" He ordered gruffly, but then he warned: "_And once Genie is free, do not get close, her magic is dangerous!_"

The two mages nodded, understanding the orders and did as they were told, scurrying to their places and began the ritual quickly so that they would please their master. Vulcan was the first to start and the old mage took a deep breath before chanting the words he had memorized over the years for when the day to set free his master's sister came. He stood at the ready, his feet slipping out into a battle stance as he spread his arms out wide and his hands began to glow a deep shade of burning crimson red. Then fire burst from his hands has he continued to speak the ancient words, the flames arching widely until they met with the three diamonds. His magical fire made the large diamonds placed in the center of the enchanted circle shuttered, hovering in the air slightly as they started to glow. The colors of red, yellow, and white started to engulf the chamber's walls, making it seem like they were in the center of a volcano ready to burst at any second.

The diamonds then started to spark, trembling with power, and over the roar of electricity, Jarfar screamed: "_Open it now, Hebe!_"

The summoner mage did so, chanting her own hymn of words so that her magic could swell with the energy given off by the diamonds. She held her hands high above her head, the golden glow of her magic swarming them until the last of the spell was said and a rip tore through the atmosphere; it was slow at first, the zippering sound of the vortex barely audible, but then it tore open quickly, ending with a **bang**. The intense force of the magic mixed with deadly one radiating from the portal was stronger than anticipated, and it sent the diamonds flying into the walls, causing the stone to crack violently under the pressure of the gems. Hebe and Vulcan also could not withstand that powerful dark winds and flew from their spots on the circle, going clear through the stone walls and to the other side, but in the long run, it was probably better that the two mages were as far away from the portal as possible.

Jarfar stood his ground though, using an arm to shield his face from the intense winds, but then he lowered it quickly when he heard a familiar accented voice just like his own.

"_Oh thou, my aching head…_"

Jarfar was over whelmed with a surreal feeling of seeing the thin frame of his sister once more, robed in the thick black fabric that wrapped around her body, but showed the bare skin of her tanned shoulders. She was clutched her head with a hand that was covered by her long sleeve, stumbling a bit from standing unevenly in the middle of the circle and she looked ready to tip over, but he was quick and rushed to her side, embracing her tightly. "_It is good to see you once more, my young sister Genie!_"

Genie looked up in confusion, blinking at him blankly and simply questioned: "_Whither is he?_"

It was Jarfar's turn to look down at his sister in confusion, holding her out from the hug with his hands on her shoulders. "_Who do you speak of?_" He questioned in return.

"_He, the one I love,_" she answered with a frown, sighing heavily. "_My lover; whither is he?_"

Jarfar scowled darkly, now he knew who she was talking about. "_He is not your lover, Genie,_" he scolded harshly. "_He is the one that imprisoned you, do you not remember that! He has caused you and I much burden for too long, and I swore that I would kill him for what he did to you._"

"_**No!**_" Genie suddenly screamed, her magic bursting from her form in a wave of shock that sent the chamber's walls to shake in fear as the chalk from the summoning portal withered away into ash.

Jarfar went flying across the room, ramming into the thick stone violently. He groaned, trying to get out of the rumble he was in, but he was losing consciousness quickly, but before his world went black, he saw the blurry image of his sister above him, and she said one last thing.

"_Thou shalt not kill him,_" she proclaimed in a dark whisper. "_For tis my mission to kill the one I love._"

* * *

><p>Somewhere deep under the ocean, there was a little yellow sub docked at an underwater chamber, but what was outside the sub was unimportant, it was what was inside the sub that mattered.<p>

"_**Son!**_" The masked man scolded sternly as he straddled another man's, who happened to be the one he was calling his son, chest and tried to pry the man's mouth open with his long red finger nails. "_You need to drink your medicine; Captain Fuzzy Hat said it would help!_"

The masked man's son continued to struggle, thrashing his legs a bout wildly until he bitched slapped the man that was his father and then pushed him away for a moment so he could say: "_There is no way I will do anything that idiot says_," he seethed bitterly, grinding his teeth together. "_I despise that mortal with all my soul!_"

The masked man opened him mouth, getting ready to retort back, but then he froze, his back going stiff as he sat on his son's stomach, looking off into the far distance. "Did you feel _that?_"

The man sat up slowly, looking at him in confused annoyance. "No," he scoffed, rolling his red colored eyes. "You are just a crazy bastard, though that is something that is not new."

The masked man ignored his son's comment and just stared at him squarely with a deep frown. "Something dark is coming."

* * *

><p>:D! It's Sane and Bas! :D<p> 


	47. Chapter 46: Doggy Days

This just a little fun chapter because I feel to lazy to start the new arc just yet, so there's this. :D

akagami hime chan: That stories have been connected for awhile, they just haven't crossed paths yet, and Gabriella wouldn't scratch out Ameria's eyes because Ameria's mother is like Gabriella's idol, but Ameria would be wary of Gabriella because Gabriella is Caden's Heir and Ameria grew up knowing that Caden was evil, but Sane did tell her that it wasn't Caden's fault, so she will be hesitant. That's all I'll say.

Neeky-chan: The two stories will cross paths soon, but it will be more than two arcs, sorry if that's dragging...

motherloosegoose: Killer is going to be his daddy, maybe Killer will train him in fighting...that is something I will think about, and I'm glad that you like my drama. :) I feel like I take forever to get to the punch of things, which can annoy people...

kaaayyytteee: I'm glad you like His Heir, too. :)

Alpenwolf: Yes, there is a song called Dannie(or Danny) Boy. It's an Irish tune that makes every woman in my family cry, even me. And one of you're options on who Genie wants to kill is right. :D

Son of Whitebeard: Good cannon ideas, but this is part of my original plot.

Sorry if there are any mistakes. This was kinda rushed...I'll go back and reread it again unless someone wants to tell me where my mistakes are. Or if someone wants to beta read for His Heir, too...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OC's are mine.

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><p>Chapter 46: Doggy Days.<p>

The snow was light that day, making it the perfect weather to go out shopping and Gabriella did need to look around the shops to find her usual glass crystal. Since the weather was nice that day, salesmen would hurry and set up their stalls with goods, trying to sell as much until it either got too cold, snowy or dark.

As she walked around in the warmth of Kidd's old fur coat over her shoulders, she noticed there seemed to be more stalls than she would have thought, so she had to walk around the town a bit, just strolling along the streets with merchandise placed on either side to find someone that sold her glass crystals. Necklaces gently swayed in the breeze gently so they chimed together, the light notes fluttering into her ears as she walked towards the section of the bazaar with the more…fragile things like her glass crystals.

"Did you find one?" Someone questioned from behind, and she looked over the maroon colored fur on her shoulder to see Kidd walking up beside her.

Her brow rose with slight interest that he followed her since they were suppose to leave the island shortly and Kidd, as the captain, needed to watch over his crew getting ready. Though, he probably had either Killer, Heat, or even Wire watch over the crew so Kidd could go off and be with her, so she pushed aside the thought."Still looking," she answered finally, turning back to browsing the stall she stopped in front of, placing her hands on the cloth covered wooden surface that was littered with little black boxes that held all the crystals.

The glass spheres ranged in color, from the lightest of red to the darkest of violet and there were also crystals that were mixed colors of the rainbow that had all different patterns like swirls, diamonds, circles, almost anything. She had no idea which one to pick out, and the salesman would be no help because he was stiff with fear since Kidd was standing right next to her. Though she shared some of the blame for scaring the man because she had made quite a name in three months, but it was either she terrified men or turned them on, and this was on of those situations where she scared that crap out of the guy, which probably saved him from the wrath of Kidd.

Gabriella didn't need the salesman's help; she knew how to pick out the best of the bunch.

"This one," Kidd spoke up, his finger gently tapping the smooth surface of a glass crystal that was a deep shade of maroon with white cloudy wisps that wrapped around it gracefully.

"Hmm," she hummed, picking the glass crystal between her fingers and inspected it. Not the best quality compared to other crystals she has seen or gotten, but it was pretty, extremely pretty. Plus, it was one that Kidd picked out, and it may be cliché, but that made it slightly more special than any other crystal. "I like it," she finally answered, glancing up at Kidd with a smile.

A ghost of a smile graced Kidd's features, but then it was gone the next second as he pulled out the beli in his pocket to pay for the glass crystal. Once the object was paid for, he turned on the heel of his foot and started to walk back towards the dock so they could get under way with leaving soon.

Gabriella quickly scooped up the black velvet box and placed the maroon glass crystal inside then turned on her own heel to caught up to Kidd would had stopped a few feet away for her catch up. At his side, she slipped her hand into his and then they started to walk along the busy streets of the bazaar.

Surprisingly, there were tons of people out, maybe because the long mystery of the island's and visitor's women being dragged away in the night was brought into the light only a few days ago. Since that was cleared up, the townsfolk unlocked their doors and windows, finally living peacefully on the home island, well as peacefully as they could anyway. There were still the other natural dangers that came along with the package of living winter island, plus there was also pirates that came in a steady stream to the island. Though that didn't really penetrate the hard outer shells of the natives since they were just too relieved that their wives, daughters, all women, young and old, were safe from getting sold as slaves in the future.

But there still seemed to be fights that broke out between the men, arguing whether they should go out and save their stolen women or if it was completely worthless to try and fight the nobles because the marines would back them up rather than the commoners. Why did she bring this up, well, that's because of an old man threw another out a window of a passing bar. Though that wasn't what she was paying attention to since something down a nearby alley drew her mind away. Her brow rose and she started to drift down the alley, she just had to go and see if _it_ was really what she thought _it_ was when she heard that little squeak on the wind.

Kidd noticed for a second that she left his side, but then he turned back to the fight, watching the large burly man swing a left hook to the young man he threw out the window. Blood stained the pure white hue of the snow and also the shoes of the bystanders that created a circle around the two men toughing it out, but then the local authorities came to break it up, ruining the show and fun. With that behind him, Kidd turned to find his summoner mage, but she was already back and she snuggled up to his side under his coat.

He blinked in confusion since she hadn't done that in awhile and also because she had his old coat to keep her warm, but he wasn't complaining about it. He liked the feeling of having her close, the warmth of her body radiating to his, so he just shrugged an arm over her shoulder and continued on their walk back to the docks, but then he stopped when he felt something wet touch his side. His brows furrowed together in confusion and he glanced down at her. "Did you just…_lick_ me?"

"What?" She questioned, looking up at him in shock. "I did _not_ lick you."

Kidd looked at her skeptically, but he saw that she had to be telling the truth since her mouth couldn't have touched the place where he was supposedly licked, but Kidd knew something was up. So he pushed her away and he noticed that she was somewhat resistant in moving away; he knew that it didn't have to do with the cold since she was warm with his coat so it had to be something else, and he saw what that _something_ else was cradled in her hands at her chest.

He blinked. "Is that a…living_ lint_ ball?"

* * *

><p>No, it wasn't a living lint ball but rather a dog, actually it was too small and young to be a dog so it was rather a puppy. When he saw the animal, he was vivid with so many emotions: rage, confusion, shock and other things he didn't feel like listing for he was lazy. He was mostly in rage though because it was the emotion he knew how to act upon and also because she wanted to keep the thing. They could have a dog the size of her hand on the ship, his ship; unless it was a huge ass mutt that could rip out someone's throat, then they were not keeping it.<p>

But she used _that_ face on him, he couldn't say no to that face. Damn his summoner mage and _that_ face she uses to get what she wants. He could at least be thankful she didn't do it on a daily basis, only one a blue moon, but sadly this day was the bluest moon ever. So now he had a hand-size dog on his ship. Amazing, he always wanted that on his ship.

So, here he was, sitting at his desk trying to read over the notes that Owen sent him a few days ago talking about the ships under Big Mom's flag being thick in the area, just like with Donavan. He needed to figure out how to thin the Pirate Emperor's fleet, but he was too focused on watching Gabriella feeding her new pet.

She sat in a chair pulled up to the side of his desk, holding the small puppy, which Chamberlain said looked like a baby Airedale Terrier, easily in one hand as she used the other to cut up pieces of steak on a plate nearby. Yes, she was feeding the puppy _steak_, slicing it into tiny bite size pieces and then held it up to the dog's tiny mouth so that it could nibble on the tough meat until it was easy to chew and shallow. This went on for at least twenty minutes and Kidd just couldn't take it anymore.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and forced his attention to the papers on his desk. "Bring a two pound steak into my office and you give it to a two ounce dog."

Gabriella stopped chuckling at the puppy lapping the grease from her finger tips and looked up at him, the smile melting from her lips and she cocked her head to the side. Her brows furrowed together in either confusion or thought, but then they shot up like she just got an idea about something and a sly smirk crossed her lips. She shifted her hold on the puppy from one hand to the other and using her hand free of grease to pick of a small piece of meat from the plate and then she stood up, walking over to the side of his chair, holding the steak out for him to eat.

His hairless brow rose with interest and he eyed the piece of meat between her fingers and then glanced up at her; it was like he was waiting for him to eat it from her fingers, like he was an animal, but he tried to ignore that fact. "Ruining a good piece of meat," he said instead of the nasty retort he had in the back of his mind, plucking the steak from her fingers and then plopped it into his mouth, chewing the tough meat.

She huffed, turning her head away in offense and then went back to her seat, getting ready to feed the dog some more of his meal, but then she saw that the plate was empty, old grease and left over seasoning on the white surface of the plate. She blinked in confusion, but then she saw something in the corner of her eyes. "Musket," she scolded, and the familiar's head popped out from the armrest of the chair.

He stared at her with large black eyes and then a small burp was heard and he disappeared from sight.

She just sighed and shook her head before flopping down in the cushions of the seat then she started to scratch the ears of the small dog. "We need to figure out a name for this little guy," she suddenly said and then snuggled the young dog to her cheek lovingly, making the puppy yip happily and lick the skin of her cheek.

Kidd figured that she was implying that he help with naming the puppy, so he did, but half heartedly. "Mutt," was his weak suggestion.

Gabriella rolled her eyes in annoyance and scoffed. "That's a terrible name," she told him bluntly, not like he cared anyway; he didn't even want the dog in the first place. That didn't stop her though, so she placed a finger to her chin, tapping it gently. "What about…" she started to say, but then paused, humming in thought until she clicked her tongue as a name came to her in thought. "I've got it," she proclaimed proudly, cuddling the dog to her cheek again.

"_Really?_" Kidd questioned with sarcasm dripping from his voice. "That's _lovely_."

Gabriella scowled, reaching over to send a rough punch to his arm, not that it hurt…a lot. She didn't seem to take notice, or care, about the look on his face and just huffed, but then she smiled, holding the puppy up to her face, and the animal responded by wiggling his legs hanging in the air and wagging his tail. "His name is gonna be…Hamish."

* * *

><p>Hamish. That was the name of the puppy that got on Kidd's nerves to the point where he want to do something, but he could do nothing about it. He couldn't just accept the puppy because that took too much work in his opinion and he couldn't kill the damn thing because Gabriella would kill him if he harmed a hair on her puppy. But the mutt was just getting in the way of everything, and when he said <em>everything<em>, he meant _everything_.

He was hovering over her, but she closed the gap by wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her nose into his neck, bathing it in warmth. Hearing her panting so close to his ear brought him to quicken his pace, but then Gabriella abruptly turned her head away from his neck and towards the corner of the room where the couch was. The whining and crying of the puppy could be heard, coming from it's little basket beside the couch, and the made Gabriella push at his shoulder roughly, making unwanted distance, in his opinion.

"Something's wrong with Hammie," she stated the obvious, but Kidd really didn't care and he used his weight against her smaller form to lessen the distance until their bare chests touched again, but Gabriella, using much stronger strength than he ever thought she had, pushed him away again, successfully removing his member that was buried deep within her.

"What the _fuck!_" Kidd sneered, glaring at her darkly at she scrambled out of bed to go to the crying puppy hidden from view on the other side of the couch. "You can't just walk out in the middle of sex!"

"My baby needs me, Kidd," Gabriella countered simply and crouched down behind the couch, disappearing from view and she started to speak softly as if she was speaking to a young child. "It's okay, sweety, Mama's here. _Awe~_, my poor baby got tangled up in the blankets, oh you silly boy~."

Kidd rolled his eyes to the heavens in annoyances at her reactions and flopped down on his side, burying his head into the fluff of his pillow to tune out the gushing from his summoner mage in the background. Then shortly after he did that, he felt the bed shift as Gabriella climbed back into bed with him. "You killed my boner," he bluntly said, trying to ward her away because he was upset with her for leaving him in the middle of something _very_ important.

"Hmm~_kay,_" she easily said, which kinda pissed Kidd off even more, but instead of rolling over onto her side of the bed, she leaning over him so she could peck his cheek while mumbling a gentle, "Good night," and then she rolled over onto her side of the bed, cuddling under the blankets to sleep.

Kidd just stared at the wall in front of his eyes, fidgeting because he wasn't really telling the truth that she killed his boner since his member was still throbbing for a release, but he ignored. Well, he tried to, but that obviously didn't work so he grumbled: "Oh, fuck it," and he rolled over, shifting his and his summoner mage's positions until he was resting between her legs again. They are naked, in bed and he was sure as hell they both wanted to let the sexual tension out; it would be a waste not to do anything, puppy interrupting them or not. Kidd got what he wanted.

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><p>As the weeks went by, Kidd would admit he got used to the puppy. Hamish wasn't as annoying he thought the small dog would be. At first he was with all the whining, interrupting and other things that Kidd didn't like, though that changed as the weeks went by. Hamish didn't yap as much, that's for sure, but also his whiny little bark turned into a real bark that could actually scare a man away, despite his size. Gabriella said he learned it from his 'daddy' and Kidd really didn't appreciate it because when his summoner mage said that; she was talking about him being the father of the dog and of course she was the mother. Kidd really didn't like the fact that she was playing 'family' on his ship, but at least the crew didn't seem to notice, if they did then they would never let him live it down. Kidd also found the puppy to be very useful because of that one day.<p>

It was about one month after Gabriella brought Hamish on board and the puppy grew in size quickly, which meant that he needed bigger spaces besides the deck and a room to run around. Gabriella usually took the dog on long walks when they docked at an island, but today she had to meet with Calamity and Madeline concerning her Ohdan's sword. So, Kidd had to take Hamish for a walk around the new island for at least and hour, not something he wanted to do, but he did it anyway.

It wasn't like Hamish was a little defenseless puppy the size of a hand anymore. Hamish was a good seven pounds now, his bite was worse than his bark, and he was as fast as a bullet. Kidd found that out when a group of drunken Marines came, taunting him because he had a mutt following him like a duckling. Kidd did not like that, and apparently neither did Hamish because the dog totally destroyed them, well, with Kidd's help of course, but the dog was able to bite one of the men on the ankle so hard that he went to the ground instantly and then Hamish jumped to the man's throat, ripping it out in a bloody blur.

Kidd took care of the other men with a few bullets from his pepperbox revolver, but still, the dog was able to kill one on his own. He was impressed with the dog on that, and that level just rose when Hamish started to dig through the pockets of the Marines, pulling out leather wallets filled with a good chunk of beli. "Good boy," Kidd smirked, nudging the small dog in the side gently to show his sign of approval as he pocketed the money and threw the wallets to the ground.

Hamish seemed to be pleased with the gesture and he started wagging his tail happily in a puddle of crimson blood. After that, Kidd would accept Hamish as his dog. The animal was a killing machine in the making; he was able to kill when he was only a few weeks old, in a few years, he would be able to kill more than just a one Marine.

Though Gabriella wasn't too happy about that…

He was walking back to the ship after walking around with Hamish carrying a bloodied Marine hat proudly between his teeth, and once they got to the docks, Kidd saw Gabriella leaning against the railing, waiting for them to return. A smile was on her face at first, but when she saw her dog covered in blood, that frown melted away into an angry frown and she said the worst thing in front of the crew, ever.

"_Kidd!_" She screeched, her brows furrowing together in rage. "_What did you do to **our** baby!_"

Kidd just stared up at her in shock, his ears picking up on hysterical laughing of his crew in the background. This was going to take him _forever_ to live down, or he was going to kill someone, which ever one worked better.

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><p>Kidd's a daddy. :3<p> 


	48. Chapter 47: Caden's Heir in Light

kaaayyytteee: Thank you for liking the chapter and Hamish.

motherloosegoose: I'm glad you like Hamish and you find him to be funny. :)

mukii: I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what you're saying, but I think you are talking about Kidd's OoCness?

Son of Whitebeard: Kidd is a dad because Gabriella says that Hamish is their baby. :D

Alpenwolf: Thanks for the edit, are you're special for being the the 200th review is at the bottom.

Sorry if there are any mistakes, I go over it again later.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 47: Caden's Heir in Light<p>

Killer was walking along the streets of the city, passing by the tall old brick building that were on either side of the cobblestone road. He could admit that it was peaceful as he continued on through the early morning, which wasn't really his cup of tea, but he could handle the feeling of complete silence much better than Kidd could. In truth, Killer was actually starting to enjoy being in peaceful silence now that they had an overly rowdy crew that they threw together over a course of three months. Like he said before; they got on his nerves and the longer he stayed with them, the quicker they got in his nerves. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to deal with them before he seriously mass murdered the lot, no matter how many times he told Kidd not to. It was hypocritical of him, yes, it was very hypocritical, not that he cared though; he was too annoyed to care.

"**I'm gonna kill you!**" A rough feminine voice screeched loudly in the background, making the masked blonde pause in his walk to look over at the commotion going on across the street.

The shriek came from a woman with lighter blonde hair than himself, trying desperately to bite the head off a man who was laughing wildly at her while two red head held her back as a second woman stood off to the side, shaking her head in annoyance at the whole scene.

"_Peggie!_" The taller of the red heads shouted the name of the woman harshly, struggling to keep her under control. _"You need to calm down!_"

"_Yeah, Peggie!_" The shorter red head agreed with the taller one, grunting as the woman pulled him forward with her strength. "_Calm down!_" He growled, trying to pull her back.

"_I don't care! I won't calm down!_" The woman, Peggie, roared, straining her body and muscles to escape the two red heads' grasps. "_I'm gonna kill him for saying that!_"

The man who was laughing just continued to bellow way, holding his stomach as tears began to form at the corner of his eyes and he was barely able to respond back to the woman as he started to wheeze. "_You couldn't kill me even if you tried, little Peggie!_"

Peggie snarled, baring her teeth and she said something, but it was too low for him to heard because the distance between them, and also because someone spoke up from behind him.

"Killer? What are you doing all the way out here?" The stone devil asked, making the masked blonde turn to see Bedros walking out of a shadowed alleyway, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his pants.

"Getting away from the crew," Killer scoffed, tossing his head slightly to show he was rolling his eyes.

"Ah," Bedros nodded, smirking lightly because he found the reason to be amusing in his eyes, but then the stone devil shuttered when a chilly breeze past by the scarred skin of his bare chest. "Kinda cold out, isn't—" he was cut off by the sound of a battle cry in the distance, making him turn towards the scene that Killer was watching before and he saw the blonde woman break away from the two red heads holding her back, tackling the man who was no longer laughing at the situation.

Though, Killer would have thought that the stone devil would find the situation to be humorous since a larger muscular man was getting his ass handed to him by a girl four times smaller than him , but it was quite the opposite.

Bedros's eyes opened wide with fright, his knees trembling while he stepped back slowly, and before Killer could even question him on what was wrong, the stone devil grabbed his arm, dragging him into the shadows of the alley while whispering: "_We need to find Abbie, ASAP!_"

* * *

><p>Gabriella held the hilt of the sword tightly in her hands, her fingers flexing against the course cloth wrapped around the dark metal. She eyes glanced over the six colorful gems, but then she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in and then released it heavily to calm her nerves before reopening her eyes. Her grip tightened on the sword and she brought it up, swinging the dark blade across the atmosphere before screaming in a battle cry: "<em>Caden's Demonic Sword!<em>" Trying to summon the magical elements of the sword, but the wanted effect did not happen and instead of the gems reacting to her command, it back fired, literally.

Her grip on the sword broke away as she went backwards, flying threw the air after the mini explosion she caused and her back ramming harshly into the forest's ground until she skidded to a halt when her head rammed into a tree. "Ow…" She whined softly, slowly sitting up as she rubbed the back of her head where a small bump was forming, but then she felt another hand on top of hers.

Kidd kneeled down beside her, a hand still on top of hers as his nonmedical eyes inspected the bump starting to form, and after his examination he said: "I think Doc should look at this."

"That's a good idea," another voice spoke up, and the summoner mage looked up to see her teacher walking up to stand before her. "And I think the lessons for today will come to a close as well," Calamity continued, tossing a lock of long black hair over her shoulder. "You need a break after working hours on awakening the sword."

Gabriella pressed her lips into a thin line of thought. "But I really need to learn how to use Ohdan's sword," she finally answered, but she still rubbed the back of her head, though Kidd pulled her hand away.

"In due time you will," Calamity replied, placing her hands on her hips. "It will be a difficult task for you learn all the secrets of Caden's sword. The demons and devils held within the very blade are unlike any other. They are not of the many children I have. They are older than me, maybe even older than _Mortalitas_ himself, you have to remember that."

Gabriella sighed deeply. "Fine, let's take a break," she agreed, slowly getting up onto her feet with Kidd's help, but once she was standing on her own, she felt like a brick wall rammed into her chest, that brick wall being Bedros because the stone devil's voice was heard.

"_Abbie, Abbie, Abbie, **Abbie!**_" The stone devil chanted her name worriedly, holding her in a tight embrace like he was trying to protect her from an unseen force.

Now, Gabriella would admit that she and the stone devil had been on pretty good turns and she could even say that they had become quite close friends over the three months after the fight ar the Marine Base, but what he wa doing right now was rather uncomfortable and what making Kidd a bit…upset, which was of course an understatement to the real emotions running rampage running through the pirate captain's body and soul. Though if the Kidd's pure rage wasn't affecting Bedros, then something really bad happened. "What's going on…?" She questioned, pushing her hands to his chest to create distance.

"Yeah, what is going on?" Killer asked, annoyance thick in his tone. "Because dragging me across town and through the woods over a group of people fighting was pretty stupid in my book."

"Those aren't just_ any_ people," Bedros snapped, his brows furrowing together as he forced Gabriella's head to his chest once more, coddling her to suffocation. "Those people are from Fort Lock!"

The key term made the summoner mage push away from him again, creating enough distance so she could look at the stone devil in the eyes widely as the pirate captain and first mate look at them in confusion while Calamity frowned deeply. "You mean…" Gabriella started to say trailing off, too shocked for words.

Bedros just nodded slowly. "That's right, the Council's men are here."

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><p>After Kidd heard that the Council was here and wanted to take her away or worse, kill her, he wouldn't let Gabriella out of the inn, for her own protection. Well, that's what he said and Gabriella couldn't help but find it slightly sweet that Kidd was doing all this to make sure nothing bad happened to her. She was perfectly capable of defending herself though, but that didn't seem to faze Kidd, so he just kept her held up in the inn. But then again, a part of her found it slightly annoying and she even had thoughts of going off on her own during the night, but she was sure all hell would break loose if she did that. At least she could be thankful that he didn't keep her locked in the room all day.<p>

So she just stayed put for Kidd's insanity, and also her's because of crew was liking an annoying horny swarm of wasps. It was boring to tell the truth, but she was able to pass the time by reading textbooks about her Ohdan's sword that Calamity gave her, but other than that, she had nothing to do, she even had trouble falling asleep and that night was no exception.

She sat against the headboard of the bed, her hand absentmindedly stroking Hamish's thick grey fur as the puppy slept away in a ball at her side. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes as her mind began to wander. There was something that seemed off, like she needed to go out and check on it, but she didn't know what it was, so she tried not acting upon the turmoil going on through her mind. Slouching in her seat, her back started to slide down the headboard, but then she sat up straight when something she heard the sound of something start tapping on glass.

She looked over at the window, a small pound of surprise beating in her chest from her heart when she saw something pure white sitting on the sill. Though the sudden shock turned to confusion when she saw that it was a bird and she cocked her head to the side, inspecting the bird in as it stared back with glowing purple eyes. That was something she didn't see everyday, but when Hamish started to get all hyper, she snapped away from her curiosity to muffle the puppy's month, looking at him sternly while whispering: "No," placing a finger to her lips, trying to hush the puppy. The last thing she needed was Kidd waking up because Hamish started barking at an animal at the window…_again_.

Once the puppy was calmed down and sit there, fidgeting to do something but did noting, Gabriella slowly got out of bed, pushing away the covers and trying her best not to make the bed shift too much so Kidd wouldn't stir to consciousness. When she got out of bed without waking Kidd, she tip-toed over to the window, undoing the small hatch the kept it close an then opened it, seeing that the bird was a dove.

It felt like a rare thing to see such a bird in a large city such as this, so that meant one thing: someone wanted to meet her, and since it was a dove, it was in a peaceful manor. The dove just blinked at her then sudden jumped into flight, flying away into the night, but then the bird landed on on another window sill, like it was waiting for her to follow.

She didn't know if this was going to be a good idea, but there was only one way to find out if it was going to be a peaceful encountering, so she grabbed up her Ohdan's sword and then turned to Hamish, giving the puppy one last smile before jumping out the window to the street below to follow the bird.

* * *

><p>"Shelbie…" The short red head said slowly as they walked through the thick underbrush of the woods at night. "Where exactly are we going?"<p>

The woman, Shelbie, who was leading the way never looked back at him and simply stated: "We are meeting someone, Congue."

The short red head, Congue, huffed with irritation, looking mildly annoyed at the shorter girl in front of him and retorted: "That's no help."

Shelbie just shrugged her shoulders at his comment, but then she stopped in a moonlit clearing, making her snowy white hair and matching robes glow in the light. "Here," was all she said and then suddenly a dove with glowing purple eyes came out of the dark trees, rustling the leaves as it flew closer. Then a white glow engulfed the bird's form, causing it to change, losing the feathery outer shell and a bright light replaced it along with little fluttering wings that never stopped moving. "Thank you, Cheri," Shelbie said with a soft smile towards the fairy that was her familiar.

The small fairy bobbed up and down, its way of telling its master, _you're welcome_.

Congue still looked at the situation in confusion and a small amount of annoyance, but he said nothing and just watched as Shelbie pulled out the glowing gold crystal that they were using to track down Caden's Heir so that they could bring her back to the Council. Though…when Congue looked that the crystal, he saw that it was acting differently, shuttering like it was trembling in fear as the rapid pulsing of light was franticly, like a heartbeat on steroids. And that's when it hit him. "She's—" he didn't get to finish his sentence because Shelbie spoke over him.

"You can come out now, Gabriella."

And as she said the words, the ginger known as Caden's Heir stepped out from behind a tree, stalking into the light of the moon.

Congue stood there in shock at the sight, but stunned silence was quickly pushed aside and he became defensive, shifting to stand in front of Shelbie protectively and Caden's Heir reacted by grabbing the hilt of the sword strapped to her hip, pulling it out slightly so the dark blade gleamed darkly in the moonlight.

"We're not here to fight," Shelbie spoke up, pushing passed Congue so she was standing between the two red heads.

"Wha—" Congue started to say, but Shelbie put up a hand, ordering him to be silent.

"I just want to tell you something," Shelbie continued, but Caden's Heir said nothing and looked at her warily, her stance never faltering. "I know the truth," was all Shelbie said, making Congue look at her in confusion, but Caden's Heir looked at her in shock. "My Master told me the truth, I'm sure you know of him. He's name is Orb."

That made Caden's Heir stare back at her in shock. "Orb…but he's the God of Conjurer's magic…"

"God of what..." Congue looked back and forth between the two women staring at each other in complete confusion to the conversation going on. "I don't understand…what's going on, Shelbie!" He shouted, looking at her for an answer to what was being said secretly between the two.

Shelbie looked up at him, a glaze over her eyes. "Just trust me on this, okay?"

Congue just stared at her, but then his lips went into a thin line of thought. "Okay…" he answered gently; Shelbie hasn't failed him in the past, so he would trust her on this, too.

Shelbie nodded to him, smiling slightly before her lips fell into a frown once more as she turned towards Caden's Heir once more. "I know the truth, like I said before. I know why you are out here and it has nothing to do with war. Master Orb told me this, just like me told me that we are not enemies here."

Caden's Heir started to let down her guard, placing the small amount of her sword that was drawn back into its sheath. "I see," she replied, but then questioned. "If you aren't enemies, then what are we?"

"As of now; we are neutral though the Council makes us look like enemies," Shelbie answered, but then she looked at the ginger with a serious gleam shining in her eyes as her brows furrowed together. "But by _Lucerna __Holy Light_, we were sent here to help you defeat the devil Copy Cat."

* * *

><p>And that is where it will end, now the special.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The world was filled with fire, the smell of ash thick in the air as Kidd laughed wildly into the smoke surrounding him, his lungs not even effected by the smoke after years off doing this. His deck was a bloody massacre, the men he so stupidly asked to join were now nothing by corpses littering his deck. It was blissful living in his moment, but then something had to ruin it.<em>

_His back hit the deck as something rammed into his chest, making him groan._

"Kidd," _His summoner mage screamed, grabbing the collar of his coat, shaking his wildly as she straddled his hips._ "Kidd wake up!"

He tried to ignore her, but the next thing he woke up to was opening his eyes to see the ceiling as Gabriella laid beside him, shaking his shoulder. Slowly, he turned his head to look at her and said: "Ruined a good dream, I hope you know that."


	49. Chapter 48: Bullshit Lie

Tigereye13: Thanks for all the edits, and I know you have a lot of questions, but I'll answer some here about the latest chapter. Shelbie isn't being controlled and I don't remember having a part when she had a glazed over look in her eyes? I wrote that chapter a week ago, I don't remember all the details. And the gods of magic are blamed for the war, so the people won't listen to them, plus most of the people don't even know they exist, only certain people do.

motherloosegoose: Copy Cat is a curious guy, and your questions about Shelbie will be answered this chapter, hopefully.

Elle-Procrastinator: Thank you for liking the special, and I know for a fact that both stories will be over 100 chapters...which is kinda long I know, but that makes for a good story, right? The longer the better? I know how it will end, so it won't be something that will be over a million chapters. So my rough estimate will be 100-130 chapters.

Son of Whitebeard: Time traveling mages would be a bad type of magic, too much power because time is a powerful thing to have if you think about it, so I doubt there will be any of that...sorry.

Alpenwolf: All your questions shall be answered this chapter, hopefully.

akagami hime chan: I don't know if your comment on Gabriella was negative or positive (in a good way), but I'll take it in a positive way and say, that it was pretty clumsy, but no one is perfect. :D

Sorry if there are any mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 48: Bullshit Lie<p>

Killer lounged in one of the many chairs of the inn's dinning area, his feet propped up on a table with ankles crossed as he leaned back on the hind legs of his seat. He flipped through the pages of the newspaper reading all about his rivals, the biggest ones being about Trafalgar Law and all the damage he has caused in the last couple of months and there were also sections about X. Drake who had made quite a name for himself since he saw the rival pirate last at Shabondy, even Hawkins was causing more mayhem. There were articles about the other Supernova, too, but they were rather small compared to the others though the only one worth reading about in the smaller sections was about Monkey D. Luffy.

Killer was curious if the rubber captain was still out there, but it seemed like the guy disappeared off the face of the Earth, which almost seemed impossible considering who the guy was. Strawhat caused chaos on the very ground he walked on, no matter where he was, the only way to stop the rubber captain's walk of destruction was death, but Killer knew that Strawhat was still alive; it was a gut feeling.

"_Where the fuck were you last night?_" The roar of Kidd rang through the rafters followed by the stomping of heavy heels coming down the stairs.

Killer glanced up from the morning paper, looking over at the stairway to see the summoner mage rush down the steps first, covering her ears like she was trying to block Kidd's screaming, but Killer knew that was never going to work. Nothing could block out Kidd's screaming, even the deaf could hear him; yeah, he was that obnoxiously loud, Killer should know since it took him years to figure out how to tune out the fucking ginger.

"_Gabriella!_" Kidd screamed as he stomped down the steps, shaking the whole building as he followed the summoner mage in rage. "_Get your fucking ass back here right now!_"

"_I can't hear you!_" Gabriella countered, shaking her head wildly as she pressed her hands harder to her ears, trying to drown out Kidd as she went to the door.

"_Stop acting like a fucking kid and get your ass—**hey!** Where the fuck do you think you're going now?_" He questioned as he watched her hurry over towards the exit. "_You can't go outside! There are people after you, you moron!_"

"_I can't hear you!_" Gabriella repeated, removing one of her hands from her ear so she could open the door and then she walked out into the open of early morning.

"_**Hey!**_" Kidd shouted. "_Get back here, god damn it! Listen to me, you stupid bitch!_"

"_Don't call me a stupid bitch, you idiotic bastard!_" Gabriella's voice came from the doorway, her tone filled with boiling rage.

"_Oh, so now you can hear me, huh?_" Kidd scoffed bitterly, marching out of the door to follow her and then he slammed it behind him with closure.

Killer blinked from behind his mask, staring at the rattling wood of the door and then he sighed, shaking his head and went back to reading the newspaper or tried to anyway. There was a small presence that walked up beside, forcing him to look down at the small boy looking up at him through the veil of bangs covering his eyes.

It was Daniel, and he stood there shifting back and forth on his heels, tugging on the hem of his shirt nervously. The boy was scared, but not as scared as others, maybe because Killer had a calmer personality unlike others on the ship, like Kidd. Though...Killer was curious why Kidd kept the boy on the ship when he really was no use to them; too young to be a cabin boy, too young to fight, too young for pretty much anything. When Killer asked Kidd about it, the red head said only one thing: Gabriella, and that actually made complete sense to Killer. Gabriella would bite the head off of anyone who touched Daniel, though, that didn't mean Kidd didn't try and ditch him on an island, but after trying to do that at least twenty times, the red head gave up. So Daniel was there to stay until something drove him away.

"Um…" The boy's voice drew Killer away from his inner thoughts, and he looked down at him, watching the boy bend over to pat Hamish on the head, then he stood back up and continued to speak, nervously wringing his hands. "Do—do they—they—" Daniel started to say, but Killer cut him off.

"Do they always act like that?" Killer questioned for him, and the boy nodded in response. "Yeah, they do," he then answered. "You get used to," he said with a shrug, removing his feet from resting on the table tops and he placed them on the floor.

"Oh," Daniel replied quietly, looking down at Hamish who was sniffing at the floor, moving away from the boy's feet and further under the table, disappearing from view and then he barked softly. Daniel tilted his head to the side in confusion, but when the puppy barked again, he crouched down on all fours and then he crawled under the table then quickly came back out, holding something in his hand. He said nothing about the small object that he had picked up and just gave it to Killer since the masked blonde's hand was out stretched, waiting to see what it was because the glimmer of gold flashed in his eyes.

It wasn't much, just a golden hoop earring, but there were small red emeralds embedded in the precious metal, making a spiral design that gave the piece of jewelry a flashier look. "Hmm," Killer hummed, examining the piece some more; alone the earring wasn't worth as much as being with a pair, maybe the other earring of the set was still down there under the table…

"_Hey you!_" A familiar feminine screeched in his general direction, making him blink at the call. "_That's my earring!_"

Killer looked up and was slightly surprised to see that it was the woman from the day before; her name was Peggie if he remembered correctly. Though, just because she said it was her earring, and Killer knew it was because he saw the matching pair dangling from the woman's ear, but that didn't mean he was going to give it up. Gold equals money; he wasn't about to give it up. So he slowly stood up, using his height as an advantage over the smaller woman, but then he really took her in.

Her light blonde hair curled around the curves of her face like a picture frame, showcasing her emerald eyes that were narrowed into two scowling slits. Even when the woman was clearly infuriated with him, Killer would admit she was attractive, _extremely_ attractive. Hey, he's been stalked by a crazy woman for way too long, he was allowed to think a woman that wasn't trying to hit on him was attractive; give him a break. But just because he found her to be attractive, that didn't mean he was just going to hand over the piece of jewelry, yet…he found himself holding out the earring for the blonde woman.

"Hmph," the blonde scoffed, snatching up her missing earring and started to replace it back in its proper spot, then she started to grumble: "Stupid Rollen, that idiot takin' my stuff and hidin' it across town. The moron's distractin' me from the mission."

Well, that explains why she didn't notice Gabriella walk out of the inn only minutes before she entered, but Killer didn't reply to her mumbling and he just stared at her while she stared back. A thick silence drew out between them, the woman just glaring at him as he blankly looked back at her, but then slowly but surely, the narrow scowl in the woman's eyes started to lighten up until they were just staring at each other with emotionless eyes, waiting for the other to speak.

"…"

"…"

No words were exchanged.

"…"

"…"

"Well…" the woman finally spoke up, her voice sounding quiet and confused. "I think I should go…"

"…" Killer still said nothing.

"…" Peggie didn't continue and just turned on the heel of her foot, strolling out of the room slowly and Killer's eyes watched her until she left the inn all together.

Daniel, who was watching the odd scene the whole time, walked over to Killer and tugged on the masked blonde's leg. "What—what was that about…?" The boy questioned softly.

"…" Killer shrugged, he still had no words for the…strange encounter, but oh well; he doubted he would see that woman again or at least not anytime soon.

"_Excuse me!_" The voice of another woman came to his ears, but it wasn't the blonde coming back, but rather a certain stick of a girl stomping towards him with an angry scowl warping her features into something deadly. "Who the heck was _that?_" Madeline questioned harshly, halting in front of the masked blonde and she jabbed a finger to his chest, but before Killer could even react to the thin summoner mage, Madeline continued. "You can't go around and_ flirt_ with stupid hoes! _I'm your girlfriend!_"

As soon as the last word was uttered past her lips, Killer violently punched the thin summoner mage in the nose, the bone crushing crack making Daniel jump in fright, clinging to Killer's leg when he saw all the blood rain down to the floor in a trail. Killer ignored the child hugging his leg like a teddy bear and simply said: "_Bullshit_," and that was that.

* * *

><p>Marching through the streets, blood lust filled Kidd's veins like a deadly disease that only got worse since he lost Gabriella when crowds of people came between them, making the short gap of a few feet to more than enough to separate them. He growled darkly at the people, making them shy away from his intimidating form, but he ignored the yelps of fear around him and continued to stalk through the streets to find<em> her<em>. God, he hated this: hated the fact that she disobeyed him, hated that she wasn't listening to him, and yeah, he knew that was pretty much the same thing, but his mind was filled with rage; the differences between phrases wasn't the main focus on his mind right now: it was Gabriella.

But then his mind momentarily took a turn when his shoulder rammed into someone else's and he pivoted sharply on his heel to come face to face with a muscular man.

"_Hey!_" He shouted at Kidd in a scratchy voice caused from years of laboring on the sea, and Kidd knew that because he was a pirate, a pirate working under Big Mom no less. He and his growing fleet had many encounters with Pirate Emperor's fleet in the passing months, but apparently this man didn't seem to recognize that, he was only angry about being bumped into. "Watch where you're goin', bastard!" The man shouted gruffly, his face growing red.

Kidd scoffed, his eyes narrowing darkly at the man larger than himself. "Fuck off."

The man's face turned crimson with rage. "Little bastard!" He screeched in a rough tone, bringing back a fist to nail a punch in Kidd's jaw.

Kidd dodged it easily, tilting his head to the side, the rush of wind from the man's fist brushing past his hair along with the _swooshing_ sound traveling through his ear. Then that rage from his summoner mage driving him up the wall came back, making Kidd reacted violently to the man's punch by returning his own punch, nailing the guy right in the eye.

The man grunted, exhaling sharply as he tumbled backwards, his back hitting the ground with a bitter crackling _thud_, but Kidd didn't just leave the man with a black eye.

Kidd wiped out his revolver, cocking it and then pulled the trigger before the man could even attempt to get back up. Blood stained the dirt of the dusty ground and splattered against his cheek. His breath grew heavy, his shoulders rising and falling dramatically as he stared at the crimson blood swarming around his feet and he felt his vision growing red.

Then the shouts of men in the hazy distance reached his ears, but when he looked up, he saw that the men were much closer than his ears had perceived. They were yelling about how he killed their boss, leader, or was it captain? At this point, Kidd didn't know nor did he care; he was too submerged in bloody rage to care about why he was going into battle. All he wanted to do was kill something, and that is what he did.

He ducked and dodged incoming punches and swinging blades that the group of burly men were attacking him with and then he sent out his own lashes of punches, breaking bones and tearing flesh with bullets from his revolver and when that was out of ammo, his pepperbox. His world was red, the shade growing darker as he continued to kill, his mind going on an endless killing spree, not even a thought of stopping even when the group of men were all gone and his blood lust went to the unfortunate innocent civilians that decided to walk down that street: it was a case of the wrong place at the wrong time.

Screams were the only thing that filled his ears, flames engulfed his visions along with blood and scarp metal impaling the flesh of the meek trying to escape his deadly grasp. Then he paused for a moment to take in the scene, watching as mothers carried children away and men tried to help comrades from the ground. The fear was a thick glaze in the eyes of all and that made a devil's grin cross Kidd's lips and then a rumble of laughter started to form in the pits of his stomach. He began to laugh uncontrollably at the sight; he knew he was going to destroy the city soon since a quarter of it was already burst into a scorching blaze, but then something stopped him.

A body tackled him, his laughter stopping abruptly and his mind too screwed up to take notice to who it was, but instead of going to the ground, he fell through a random hole. It was a strange feeling, being engulfed in bright golden light; it seemed so surreal, almost...calming to his violent nature, but then he was suddenly be placed in the darkness of night. His vision went black for a moment, his eyes used to the brightness of fire and the gold light, and it made him look around in complete shock; when he left the inn it was still morning, now it was night, already? Damn, he went on a really large killing spree, didn't he?

"Kidd," his confused thought were interrupted by the smooth voice of his summoner mage, her soft tone floating into his ear. "Calm down," she ordered gently, cupping his cheeks and forced him to look her in the eyes, to see the worried yet firm expression.

He snapped from confusion and right back to rage when he saw the look in her eyes and what she said, lashing his hands out and gripped her wrists, pulling them away from his face and he scowled darkly down at her. "_Don't tell me what to do,_" he snarled, his grip tightening around her wrists.

She flinched as the pressure, making a small whimper come out, but she masked the pain and responded in a weak whisper: "I'm only saying this so you don't kill someone important."

"_Like who,_" he retorted in a nasty tone, almost growling the words.

"_Like your crew!_" She countered, her brow twitching with pain as his grip on her wrists grew sharper.

Kidd froze, his mind taking in what she said. He was on such a killing spree that he could have accidently killed some of his crew; it had happened before and he was lucky that Killer was able to barely stop him. This was just like that time, but this time it was Gabriella that was able to stop him, but not without pain and that's when he let go of her wrists. He took a step back, standing there and watched her rubbing the bruised skin that he caused. A sinking feeling dropped in the pits of his stomach and he frowned; he didn't mean to hurt her, but he wasn't just going to say sorry. This had to do with him burning down a quarter of the city, and he wasn't going to apologize for doing that, not even to Gabriella…though hurting her was another thing.

"Are you okay?" He questioned, stepping closer to her and cradled one of her hands in both of his, his mechanical fingers gently brushing against the burned skin to cool it down.

"Yeah," she answered with a weak smile. "I've had worse."

"Ah…" Kidd mumbled, his finger brushing against the light red marks along her skin.

Gabriella frowned at his silence and she cupped one of his cheeks, saying: "I'm fine," but Kidd didn't look convinced one bit and she sighed, going up onto her tippy toes, giving him a small peck on the lips. "I'm fine," she repeated, murmuring the words against his lips and then lowered her heels back to the ground. She flashed him another smile and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's head back before the Council catches me," she teased, chuckling lightly.

That only made Kidd frown deeply, it wasn't something he wanted to happen now or anytime soon, as in never, but he ignored the little joke and just went along walking side by side with his summoner mage.

"_Stop right there!_"

The voice from behind made him stop in his tracks; Gabriella so jinxed them when she said that. He groaned, closing his eyes at the turn of events and when he looked over his shoulder to size up the enemy, he was surprised what he saw. Killer had given him a rundown of what the mages after Gabriella looked like and this woman looked nothing like the two Killer told him about.

She was short and thin, a long black dress covering the bump on her stomach, which led Kidd to believe that she was pregnant. That made Kidd roll his eyes; she was probably there to tell him off because she killed someone in his massacre. "It's time to pay your dues after all these years," the woman continued, flipping a lock of long light pink hair over her shoulder.

Kidd blinked in confusion, glancing down at Gabriella and his summoner mage just shrugged, so Kidd looked back at the woman. "Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me you don't know, seriously?" The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Don't you at least remember me? Captain Cornelia?"

Kidd's brow rose; she was a captain? What were the odds of that, he knew that there were a few woman pirate captains out there, but he never met any of them; he's never seen Bonny for that matter. But, it didn't matter if she was a pirate, pirate captain, or just a random whore, there was only one important thing on this matter. "No," Kidd bluntly answered; he did not know who the bitch was.

The woman, Cornelia, just scowled at him, placing a hand over her baby bump while the other hooked to her hip. "Well," she huffed bitterly. "Maybe the fact that you are the father of _our_ baby will ring a bell."

Kidd felt his jaw drop to the ground; _she said what?_ Was the only thing going through his mind. Did she really just say that? That just couldn't be possible since as late as nine months ago, he was with Gabriella, hell, he was pretty sure that was around the time that he told her that he _liked_ her for Pete's Sake! There was no way he knocked up any woman, and if he did, it would be Gabriella and he already went through _that_ scare, so moving on. Though there was nothing else to move onto since all he could think about was how drunk was he when this happened and where the hell was Gabriella when he needed the drunken sexual tension to be released, but then he snapped out of it when Gabriella started to tip over.

His arms darted out to catch her, and Kidd saw that her eyes were closed, her cheeks flaring red either with rage or...shock? If her cheeks could even turn red with shock, he hoped so, he really didn't want to see Gabriella's rage level on this one; that he might have...slept with another woman. But god damn it, why did she have to faint? Though, he could clearly see why, hell, if she didn't faint, then he probably would have, he could admit that, but back to the woman that just shattered his world, "…" but he didn't even have the voice to form any curse words to react to what she just said.

Cornelia didn't seem to notice that Kidd just literally turned to stone and she continued on, seriously _swooning_ over the story of…how they met. Kidd really wasn't paying attention clearly to the words she was saying as hearts were gushing from her words, though he got the important parts. That they met in the beginning of the Grand Line, the first island where they ended up docking beside each other at port. Then she went on to say that they started talking and then they went to a bar to celebrate getting to the Grand Line in one piece...and then she said that's when...**it** happen, and that it was love at first sight when they met at the docks that day, or something. It must have been one sided since Kidd didn't like her, hell, he didn't even _know_ her, but something didn't add up…which made his mind go in over drive, a little something like this:

_Beep, beep…calculating…beep, beep…calculating…loading data...ding!_ "Hey! Wait a minute!" Kidd finally shouted, his eyes growing wide. "You should have popped that little shit out months ago! It's been close to three years!"

"Roger's girl held in his son for over nine months, so why can't I?" She countered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kidd opened his mouth, but then closed it along with his eyes and shook his head; this was some annoying shit and he didn't want to deal with it. "You know what, I'm done with his bullshit," he grumbled, going to the more important fact of picking up his knocked out summoner mage in his arms. "I'm leaving."

"_But—_"

"_Get lost!_" He shouted over his shoulder, leaving the woman screaming after him in the dark.

* * *

><p>Killer had questioned Kidd when he walked into the inn with Gabriella passed out in his arms, asking what the hell happened and Kidd didn't want to talk about it with his first mate at all. It was just too weird, but maybe tomorrow he would have Killer get some information on this female pirate captain. Kidd wasn't the best with remembering certain things, but Killer was, maybe he would remember the woman and then follow up with more on who she was because...Kidd had that strange gut feeling that this won't be the last time he saw her...<p>

Though he had more important things to worry about, like Gabriella for instance, so the masked blonde seemed to be fine with no explanation and allowed Kidd to walk on by and to his room without another word.

He closed the door behind him, blocking out the fuzzy background noise of his crew on the ground floor then he walked over to the bed, placing Gabriella on the covers gently. She sighed softly when her head hit the pillow and he brows twitched at the change from Kidd's arms to the bed, but then her expression settled back into a peaceful one. Time slowly ticked away as he just stood there, watching over her from the bedside and then finally he sat down beside her, careful not to wake her when the bed shifted. She stirred slightly, but not enough to wake and she just turned, resting on her side with her back towards him.

His hand fingered through her hair, his skin feeling the silkiness of it. He never knew her hair was this soft, but then he sighed; her hair wasn't the important thing right now. So, Kidd placed a hand on either side of her form, leaning over close to her ear and whispered: "Don't believe that bullshit she said. She's a fuckin' liar," and he could only hope that what he said was true.

She didn't answer, but he didn't except one either, so he just slowly got out of the bed, careful not to wake his summoner mage and then he shed off his coat and kicked his boots off. With a yawn, he took off his goggles from his forehead and then his weapons strap from his across his chest, placing them on the nightstand beside the bed. Then he sat back down on the bed, rolling over to his summoner mage and pulled Gabriella's back close to his chest and drifted off to sleep. It had been a long day and it was time for bed.

* * *

><p>Ash coated the ground as Shelbie looked around the carnage and she hummed in thought. This was truly a massacre that happened today and it must have been caused by Gabriella's captain.<p>

"You think Caden's Heir did this?" The tall red head said from her side, and he scrunched his nose at the smell of burnt flesh thick in the air. "You know that she's probably just as twisted as that traitor. She probably did this just for fun."

Shelbie frowned at the hurtful words to an innocent person, but she didn't let it get to her; she knew he didn't know the truth like she did, so she couldn't blame him for believing what the people of their home was taught for so long. "No, Udas" she finally answered. "I don't think she did, right Congue?" She inquired, looking over her shoulder to the shorter red head.

Congue frowned deeply when he was in the spotlight and she could tell that he looked conflicted with what he was taught and what she told him the other night, but in the end, he said: "Right, so let's move on to the next island. She isn't here."


	50. Chapter 49: Brother!

I kinda like this chapter. It was fun to do.

Neeky-chan: Don't worry about not reviewing, reading is all that matters, right? So anyway, I'm glad that you like Hamish, he is kinda like Loki, but Hamish likes Kidd, unlike Loki who hates Law. ;p

mukii: I'm glad that you like Daniel and Hamish, they are the cuteness duo. :) Also, for your question the answer is no and yes. No, you don't _have_ to read Bones to get His Heir or read His Heir to get Bones. Though I would recommend it since the stories are tied together and somethings could get confusing, but I try my best to explain thing between both stories because I know some people only read His Heir or Bones. So you should be good.

motherloosegoose: I find it to be awesome that I floored you, and I think that you will like this chapter because it will explain everything.

Alpenwolf: Kidd explaining it to her won't be as hard as you think. :p And sorry to say that your questions one the Fort Lockers won't be answered for awhile now.

akagami hime chan: Gabriella could do that, but she's a pretty understanding girl when it comes to certain things. I have a plan for Madeline and a romance for her; I want to see if anyone can guess who it will be. :D

Guest (Tigereye13): I know this is you because you are the only one to point out my mistakes, so I IDed you. :D But anyway, I think that was flirting for Killer, being silent and staring, checking her out, you know? Maybe Peggie will be Killer's love interest, which will cause crazy drama because of Madeline, plus the man that likes her though he hasn't been named yet, can you guess who?

Sorry for the mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own plot and OCs

* * *

><p>Chapter 49: Brother!<p>

Kidd couldn't get a wink of sleep that night, his mind too focused on what was said only hours ago, that he could be: a…father. He wanted to doubt it, but considering his reputation back then, it actually seemed highly probable in his case, hence why he couldn't sleep at all. By the time six a.m. rolled around, he had given up trying to get to sleep, turning away from leaning against Gabriella's form and flopped onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. He just thought about what was said, if it was true, what he was going to do about it, how Gabriella would react, what was going to happen after all this was over. He already thought about what was said for hours, plus he didn't want to think about it anymore, to think if it was true or not. So the next thing to do was think about what he was going to do and he decided that last night: talk to Killer.

With his plan in mind, he slowly got out of bed so that he wouldn't wake his summoner mage, but he managed to wake up Hamish, the puppy shooting up and barking quietly, his paws patting at the bed happily, thinking that he was going to get to go on an earlier morning walk with him. Kidd sent the puppy a scowl, ordering him to shut up, not now and to go back to sleep, Hamish seemed to understand that and obediently curled back up in a tiny ball next to Musket, the two of them sleeping at the foot of the bed.

Once the puppy was sound asleep again, Kidd left the room, not even bothering with his coat, boots or even his weapons and just went straight to his first mate's room, bursting through the door. "_Killer!_" Kidd shouted, slamming the door behind him as he went inside. "I need to talk to you!" Then he walked further into the room, but he saw that the masked blonde wasn't in his bed, making Kidd groan at the thought of Killer already leaving to take came of his earlier morning duties, but a door creaking open behind him.

"Wha'ta hell?" Killer muttered bitterly, his toothbrush still stuck inside his mouth, brushing his teeth still as minty foam collected around the corner of his lips.

"I have a problem," was all Kidd said.

Killer paused in brushing his teeth and he stared blankly at him, but then he suddenly turned on the heel of his foot and walked back into the bathroom. "I'm not a girl, figure this out on your own."

"I can't do that," Kidd cut in quickly, shoving his hand on the door to stop Killer from closing it on him. "I need your help on getting information."

Killer eyed him curiously from the veil of long bangs hanging in front of his eyes, but then he shrugged. "Whatever," he huffed, leaning against the countertop with a hand as he continued to brush his teeth.

Kidd leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest and then he sighed. "Do you remember someone named Cornelia? She talked to me last night and she's a captain and we apparently met at the beginning of the Grand Line."

"So," Killer grumbled, pausing to spit out a mouth full of foaming toothpaste. "Why would you want to dig up the dirt on her?" He asked, sticking his toothbrush back into his mouth and continued to brush.

"Because…" Kidd started to say, but then paused, collecting his thoughts as he pressed his lips into a thin line, but then he finally said: "She said that she's pregnant with my kid."

Killer abruptly spit out everything, the foamy spray of mint sticking to the mirror. He started coughing at the sudden reaction caused by his body and then he snapped his head towards Kidd, an expression of complete shock on his face. "…" Killer had no words to even utter about what Kidd just told him.

"I found flaws in what she said though," Kidd quickly said. "If I was the father then that would mean she'd have the baby inside her for like three years and she tried to pull the_ Roger's-girl-did-it-so-I-can-too card on me_, but I think she's lying."

"Or you cheated on Gabriella," Killer bluntly added.

Kidd scowled at him darkly, but said nothing because it was a probability that he could have slept with the other woman. It wasn't going to be something that he admitted though; he wanted to avoid the idea that he…cheated on his summoner mage. He shook his head; he wasn't going to think about it and would just move on with the conversation at hand. "So, can you get me some information on her?"

Killer nodded, finishing up with brushing his teeth and then grabbed his shirt from the countertop. "I'll do my best. I'll ask Chamberlain if he remembers her or read about her in the newspaper." He said, pulling his shirt over his head as he walked out of the bathroom and Kidd turned around so he was looking into the bedroom and he watched as Killer picked up his mask then headed towards the door, but before the masked blonde walked out, he said one more thing. "Good luck with Gabriella," and then he left the room.

Kidd sighed deeply, rubbing his temples to cast way the tension; it was the next thing he needed to do on the list: talk to Gabriella and work things out. It really wasn't something he wanted to do because he was actually _worried_ about his summoner mage's reaction, but he just couldn't avoid it. It was like a gut feeling, so with another deep sigh, he went back to his room, but he found that Gabriella was gone and it was only Hamish and Musket still at the foot of his bed. He knew she didn't leave only for one reason because of the _pitter-patter_ of water in the background: the shower was running. So he went straight into the bathroom, and when he walked into the small room, his face hit a muggy wall, the fog collecting on the mirror and hanging around the ceiling.

Her humming was heard past the sound of running water and he walked over to the shower, pushing back the green plastic curtain. "_Hey!_" Gabriella shrieked girlishly in shock, her hands going up to cover her bare chest as one of her legs curled up, trying to hide herself from his view.

If he wasn't pressed under certain stressful circumstances, then he would have rolled his eyes and said: _it's pointless to hide what I've already seen many times_, but instead he blurted: "I didn't cheat on you," then he instantly regretted it. What if she forgot? And he just kindled the dimming flame into a blazing fire for her rage. Oh god, he needed to think before he spoke, it was a habit he needed to learn when it came to Gabriella.

Though, Gabriella just stared at him in confusion, tilting her head to the side as the water rained down on her, making strands of thick ginger hair stick to the skin of her cheek and shoulder. "What…?" She mumbled, and Kidd could have sworn that was an undertone of rage in her voice.

He could have been just imagining it because his mind set was that she was mad, but he really couldn't know until she exploded. She was like a ticking time bomb, he just knew it. "What that bitch said last night," Kidd elaborated quickly, watching her brows furrow together and he hoped that he could pull himself out of the grave he was digging. "I didn't get her pregnant."

She blinked, her brow cocking, but then she did the unexpected: she chuckled. "I know that you didn't," was her answer. "I'm not stupid, Kidd."

Kidd was so ready to defend himself that he was surprised that she agreed with him in such a teasing way and she must have seen that because she started to chuckle even more at the look on his face.

"I think I would have known if you cheated on me, Kidd," she started to explain, reaching for a bar of soap. "You aren't all too quiet during sex, or gentle. I would have heard you, and her for that matter," she laughed, tapping one of her long ears. "No matter how far you got from me. Though that doesn't mean I'm not pissed at the whore for saying that," she scoffed angrily, rolling her eyes as she began to scrub her skin. "If I ever see that little pinkie I'll rip her head off, baby in her belly or not. I bet she was faking it, you know. Just add a pillow under that dress and poof, she's 'pregnant', yeah right."

Kidd was really at a lose of words and he just stood there, barely listening to her venting on the subject as she continued to moved the soap along her skin. He didn't know what he was going to do now because he was so focused on her being furious with him, but she wasn't. So what now? It would be awhile before Killer would be back with his info. on the whore and he was too wide awake to try and go to sleep. But then he noticed he had a naked wet woman in front of him, his eyes glazing over her skin and he found himself licking his lips as he grew harder down south.

His summoner mage was telling him to close the curtain and he did that alright, right after he pulled off his pants and stepped into the shower himself. She tried to speak up, but his lips stopped that with a bruising kiss and all that could be heard was a deep moan. The water poured down on them, making their bodies slick and his fingers brushed along the smooth skin of her back all the way to her hips and he jerked her closer until there was no gap between them.

Then Gabriella sudden twisted in his grasp, breaking the kiss. "Whoa there, tiger," she mused, her breath slightly ragged as she pushed him away to create distance. "I think you may want to put a coat on your little friend that's poking me right now. Do you really want to risk _another_ scare like_ that_ again?"

"I'll risk it," Kidd muttered, wrapping his arms around her tightly so that there was no longer a gap between them once more and kissed her neck, his teeth sinking into her damp skin, making her groan. Yeah, he would definitely risk it.

* * *

><p>Killer walked into the dining room of the inn, the room vacant of most of the crew except for the small quarter that were natives from the South Blue; they were early bird and that included Chamberlain and Heat. The two were sitting off in the corner of the room, looking over charts of the Big Mom's fleet routes they got from Owen a few days ago. The Pirate Emperor was being problematic with Kidd getting more territories and the whole crew had a feeling their captain was going to drop the hammer soon, attacking some of the main ships under Big Mom's flag because he already contacted his three leading commanders about it. A fight was coming soon and everyone was preparing for it, but first Killer needed to get Kidd out of this rut of confusion and panic. If Kidd's head wasn't in the game, then the crew's wasn't. So Killer needed to help Kidd with his relationship problem, not the thing he wanted to on his day off, but sadly, he had to for the safety of everyone.<p>

"Hey, Chamberlain," Killer said, stopping in front of the table.

Chamberlain looked up from the chart along with Heat, both men eyeing the masked blonde, but it was Chamberlain that spoke. "What's up?"

"You know about a Captain Cornelia?" Killer questioned, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets.

"Hmm," Chamberlain hummed, rubbing the side of his chin with a thumb. "I don't recall anyone in our travels by that name, but I'm sure Jacques does. You know he has a little black book of every girl he's met."

"True," Killer nodded in agreement. "Do you know where he is?"

"He went out awhile ago," Heat interjected, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the door. "Not too long ago though, you should be able to catch up to him if you hurry."

Killer just waved a hand over his shoulder to them as he started to make his way to the door and out into the earlier light of morning. It was fairly easy to find the French bomber since most people of the city weren't up yet besides the workers trying to repair the damage Kidd caused the other day. Though there was a good amount of Marines patrolling the streets now, but they must have been a bunch of yellow bellies because they didn't even try to arrest him. Just came to show that the Marines were lacking in the _brave to protect the innocent_ department, not that it bothered the masked blonde; it just meant it was easier to get to Jacques.

"Oi, Jacques," Killer called and the bomber turned around, looking over his shoulder.

He looked at the masked blonde, mumbling a small greeting in his native language and then asked what was going on.

"The name Cornelia, does it ring a bell?" Killer questioned in English; Jacques may not have been able to speak clear English, but at least he could understand it because Killer really didn't feel like talking French. Jacques could be really nit-picky if he said something wrong.

Jacques hummed lightly, his finger tapping the small patch of blonde hair at his chin. Then he started to dig through his pockets, pushing away the straps of bombs along his body until he pulled out his little black book. Licking his thumb, he then began to flip through it until he found the page with the name and then he started to explain all the details to the first mate.

"Wait, wait, wait," Killer put his hands up, signaling the bomber to stop. "So we _did_ meet her on the first island of the Grand Line?" He questioned and the bomber nodded. "But the only difference is she was the first mate whereas she says she's a captain now."

Jacques hummed and tapped the small beard at his chin again then he looked back at his book, noticing something else he wrote down and then explained that to the masked blonde.

Killer just sighed shaking her head. "You flirted with her when she so happened to have a boyfriend, who was the actual captain," Killer commented in annoyance, but then Jacques added something else on in his defense. "Oh, so she told you that she was having a falling out with her boyfriend and let me guess, her boyfriend didn't agree." He continued and the bomber nodded. "Okay, so," Killer started to piece the pieces together. "She was the first mate, but now is the captain and the most logical explanation for that is that he died, but how the fuck does Kidd fit into all this?"

Jacques cocked his head in confusion, but when he looked back down at his book, saying that he had also wrote down the killer of the former captain.

"Oh fuck, so Kidd killed him, how the heck did that happen?" Killer asked, and of course the bomber had an answer. "He was drunk and got annoyed, typical Kidd, but anyway," Killer shook his head, getting back on track. "Since she was having a falling out with her captain that meant with Kidd killing him, she could have taken it as a way of, maybe, protecting her? As crazy as that sounds," Killer scoffed and the bomber agreed with that. "But do you know if Kidd slept with her by any chance?"

Jacques looked down at the book then shook his head, saying that he didn't know.

Killer sighed, shaking his head; he figured out who the girl was, but he still hadn't figured out if her pregnancy was Kidd's fault. Maybe if he talked to a doctor about the probability of a woman being pregnant of close to three years so he questioned: "Do you know where Doc is?"

* * *

><p>"Impossible," was the answer. "Extremely impossible," Doc added, looking over a bottle of medications to see the ingredients and when he was done with that, he placed it in the basket that Daniel was carrying in his arms.<p>

"So there is no way that Kidd could have gotten her pregnant over three years ago and she still not have the baby?" Killer repeated, just to make sure.

"Did you not hear me the first time?" Doc scoffed, rolling his eyes as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "You see, Killer, the mother doesn't decide when her baby comes, no matter what kind of crap people try to sell them. So, the baby comes out when the baby wants to, the mother has no say in the matter."

"What about Roger's girl?" Killer countered. "She held in Fire Fist for what, two years?"

"A mystery," was the answer. "Or a lot of drugs," Doc added, lighting up a cigarette. "But that petty little pirate girl you told me about probably wouldn't have the money or man power to get the drugs needed because they are under Marine watch. She would probably have to sleep with a high ranking guy in the military to get that stuff, so that's probably who the father is."

"Hmm…" Killer hummed. "I see," and then he turned on the heel of his foot and started to head back to Kidd since the masked blonde had good news.

* * *

><p>"God, Capt'n," Nicholas mumbled, looking over the mechanical arm with critical eyes, seeing the water dripping from the wires hidden under plates of steel. "What the hell did ya do? I know I said that it could handle being wet of an hour, two hours pushing the limit, but seriously, what did ya do? Take a nap in the bathtub?"<p>

"I was in the shower," was Kidd's answer.

"In the shower for, what, five hours? I can tell by the damage, ya know," Nicholas grunted, getting ready to work on the repairs.

"Well," Kidd clicked his tongue. "I was busy doin' something," was his only answer and his hand landed on Gabriella's knee.

She was sitting beside him, holding Musket in her lap along with Hamish and her hand covered his, her fingers curling around his. She smiled slyly at him and he returned the smirk; Nicholas didn't seem to read between the lines since the young mechanic became engulfed in his work to repair Kidd's mechanical arm, but then he paused in his work when Killer walked in.

"We did meet her back then," the masked blonde said, getting right to the chase, and the pirate captain felt like standing up and strangling him.

Kidd felt something just drop in his stomach, but then next thing Killer said made his heart jump into his throat.

"It's also highly unlikely that you are, well," Killer glanced at Nicholas, seeing the mechanic looked confused at the conversation. "That you caused anything you didn't want."

Kidd sighed deeply in relief because of that, leaning back in the chair and he patted his summoner mage's knee. He felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, his mind finally getting the peace it needed, but something still didn't feel right. Not that he was saying he still thought he got the bitch pregnant, but it felt like...this wasn't the last time he would see her. But then his thoughts were interrupted when Madeline came rushing into the room, panicking like crazy.

"_Gabs!_" She screamed, darting to Gabriella and started to shake her shoulders violently. "I can't find Calamity! She's gone missing!" Then the thin summoner mage started to go off on a tangent about how worried she was.

Gabriella just stared up at her peer in shock until she was able to pry Madeline away. "What the heck are you talking about? Calamity goes off on her own all the time."

"But I feel something wrong, don't you?" Madeline questioned.

"It's those mages from Lock," Gabriella waved her off, dismissing her peer's worry. "I'm sure of it."

"They left this morning," Madeline answered. "I saw them go."

Gabriella looked at her in confusion. "They left…but then…"

"I told you something was wrong!" Madeline shouted. "Calamity's in trouble!"

"Why's Mother in trouble?" The stone devil's voice came from behind them all and they all turned to see Bedros leaning against the doorframe. "She shouldn't be because her big brother wouldn't allow. He is here, ya know?"

Everyone one stared blankly, even Gabriella and Madeline because apparently they didn't now everything about their teacher like one little thing. "**_She has a brother!_**"

* * *

><p>"<em>Say hi to your auntie, children~!<em>" The skull masked man sang cheerfully shoving the two skulls into Calamity's hands.

The magical being looked down at the two vessels she was holding, one being a normal skull and the other being a small dragon skull. Calamity just blinked at the objects and then looked up at her brother again. "Sane—"

"What rude children I have!" Sane huffed, placing his hands on his hips. "I'll have to ground them for two months for that," he scolded, wagging his finger at the two skulls.

Calamity didn't comment on that and just cut straight to the chase. "What seems to be the problem, Sane? You wouldn't have called me hear if there wasn't one."

"Oh," Sane snapped from his fatherly rage to another form of rage: wicked, evil, maleficent, all of the above. "Tell me when you are prepared because I have Copy Cat under my thumb."

* * *

><p>The night was warmer than he thought it would be, not that it matter to Kidd all too much. He was just out on a stroll with Gabriella because Hamish needed to be walked and night seemed to be the best time to do it. There weren't that many people out so they didn't have to worry about being stopped all the time too much. So the walk was smooth, peaceful; his summoner mage's hands placed on his arm as Hamish led the way, barking happily as he nipped at the small amount of fireflies by the docks.<p>

But then Hamish stopped, his small body going ridged and his ears went up as he listened onto something that the couple couldn't hear. Then the puppy suddenly sprinted off towards a nearby alleyway, barking obnoxiously when he halted. That made Kidd and Gabriella exchange looks and then they both glanced towards the yapping puppy, deciding that it must have been worth their time if Hamish sniffed it out.

The smell of blood hung in the air, not enough for a massacre, it was too thin for that which was why Kidd didn't pick up on it. Though there was enough blood thanks to a rough beating, and the culprit was still standing before him. "Well, well, well, lookie who we have here," Kidd sneered with a smirk when he saw none other than Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death himself.

Law was in the middle of a minor massacre, most of them Marines still breathing whereas others were bloodied with crimson, their chests no longer filled with oxygen. Law had one of the barely living men in his hand, the tattooed fingers curled around the Marine's blood stained uniform shirt while his other hand held his weapon of choice. Then the surgeon smirked wickedly, his lips parting just to show a small sliver of his teeth.

"So, what do you think you are doing here, huh?" Kidd questioned with amusement thick in his tone.

Law just chuckled, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "I believe that is none of your business, Mister Eustass," he stated coolly, dropping his load of Marine and then sheathed his nodachi. Once the blade was back in its metal casing, Law leaned the nodachi against his shoulder then turned towards them again, tipping his hat to Gabriella in smug politeness and then he flicked Kidd off before going off down the opposite side of the alleyway, disappearing into the shadows.

There was a long silence after the rival pirate captain disappeared, but then Gabriella spoke up. "What do you think he's up to?"

"Don't know," Kidd answered with a shrug, but then frowned. "But it can't be good. Not at all."

* * *

><p>Since Kidd met Ameria, Law needed to met Gabriella. It was only fair.<p> 


	51. Chapter 50: Sinkin' Some Ships

Animelover007: Yes, Sane and Calamity are related, I'm glad that I shocked you about that. I left small hints to it, but they were left in chapters way, way back in the past.

Neeky-chan: In Bones, Law was on the island, but you didn't get to see it because it was all in Ameria's point of view. So the last part in the last chapter was at the end of the day. So if you put that in Law's point of view, you will have the same scene, same island.

GoddessOfNight08: (For chapter 15) I'm glad that you like the way I have protrayed Killer's personality. It's a little OoC, but hopefully in a good way.

akagami hime chan: Elielephant-sama? I don't think I have been called that before, makes me feel kinda specail. But anyway, I'm sure Law made a fabulous impression on Gabriella, wait until she meets Bepo because remember our little ginger mage loves bears. :D

Tigereye13: Thanks for the edits. Gabriella fainted out of shock. It's not everyday she hears that Kidd's a daddy to another woman, you know? And questions to Law killing random Marines will be answered in Bones.

Guest: I'm glad that my chapter made you excited, but Gabriella isn't meeting Ameria soon.

motherloosegoose: I'm that you liked all my little bits of the chapter, and thank you for liking the chapter.

Alpenwolf: That's for the edit. The meeting of the captains really isn't the big, well, depends on which captains you mean.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 50: Sink'in some Ships.<p>

"Hammie," Gabriella called, looking behind the leather couch, but saw nothing. She huffed and then called out to her puppy again. "Where are you Hammie-Baby?" There was no reply, not even a single whimper. She figured that her puppy must have been somewhere else, but she couldn't look for him right now since she needed to get ready for the big fight.

Kidd had made all the plans; they would be fighting two of Big Mom's commanding ships that were in the area. It was something in the making for a few weeks, letters being rushed back and forth between Kidd's commanding officers to make all the arrangements. Though, Gabriella didn't know all the details because Kidd kept it on the down low, trying his best to make sure no information was leaked to their target and luckily, from the positions of Big Mom's ships, everything was going according to plan.

The bits and pieces she got from what Kidd told her, and what she over her from conversations between the red head and masked blonde, they were planning to trap them in to make it so there was no chance of escape. The four commanding ships of his fleet were coming from all different angles, though she heard Donavan was bringing in another ship, a crew that just joined and he told Kidd this was how he was going to prove his worth. Kidd didn't seem to care, if anything, maybe Kidd was thankful that another ship was going to help; they were going to be taking down ships under a Pirate Emperor and all.

But if anything, Kidd was excited, the thrill rushing through his veins was visible, and also contagious since Gabriella found herself getting excited as well. Things needed to do be done first, which was get her sword prepped for the fight. She had been practicing with the magical elements whenever she had free time, but she still had difficulty controlling it. Calamity said she was getting better, but still needed to practice, but she could still use the sword without using the magic part; it was a deadly weapon through and through.

So she got that, strapped it to her hip then she looked around for that bag she bought along with her crystal sphere before she left the last island. It was like a medical bag that could be clipped to the belt, it was extremely small though; like something a mother would have if she went out and wanted to have something to store a box of band aids or anything else one puts in a first aid kit. Gabriella didn't want it for a first aid kit though, it was for Musket.

Since she no longer wore her cloak, her familiar had no place to hide anymore and she didn't want anything to happen to him, so she kept him on the ship for safe keeping. It seemed like the only way to protect Musket, but it also put her into danger. She needed Musket to be in a certain range and if they were out of that range, then she couldn't use her magic anymore and pretty much became a sleepy puppet. That wasn't something she wanted to happen to her, _ever_, so she had to think of something where she could have Musket close, but yet not in danger. That's where the bag came in.

Musket said it wasn't as roomy like the cloak was, but it was better than being cooped up on the ship for days. He may have wings but he didn't like being treated like a bird in a cage.

After searching through all the drawers, she finally found her medical bag and attached it to the other side of her hip then she placed Musket inside. "There," she huffed with a tiny smile of satisfaction. "That's taken care of, but now to find Hammie," she mumbled, looking around the room one more time. Hamish wasn't there, she knew her baby would respond to her in some way, so maybe he was in the kitchen… Hal the cook usually always gave the puppy treats, even when he wasn't supposed to.

So heading to the door, she opened it quickly and she was surprised to find Kidd about to open the door from the other side and he was holding a squirmy Hamish in his arms. "Oh you found him~," She chirped lovingly, plucking her puppy from his grasp and cuddle Hamish like a baby. "Mama's been looking for you, _sweetie~,_" She cooed, rubbing her cheek against the puppy's curly grey fur, making Hamish bark happily at the motherly affection.

Kidd didn't say anything, his expression as blank as blank could be. He just watched her hugging the puppy, talking to it with a sugary voice, but then he spoke up. "We need to talk."

The words no girl ever wanted to hear from a boy in a relationship. It wasn't the first time she heard it; she had relationships before. Though, this line wasn't just for a break up, but for killing her by order of _Scrutum_, she could tell by the old emblems they wore on bands around their biceps; they were symbols used before the Demon War. Those assassins failed of course, thanks to Mason stalking her; the only good thing that came from him following her around. She didn't think Kidd wanted to stab her in the back through, but a talk about…oh, she didn't want to think about it.

"I need to get Hammie to the infirmary," She avoided him, side-stepping Kidd's form. "Dannie is gonna watch him since he's staying with Doc for safety during the fight," she explained, starting to walk away, but Kidd stuck out his arm, blocking her path.

"Okay," He replied, and she looked up at him in surprise, but Kidd just continued. "And once you're there, I want you to stay put."

Gabriella stared at him, blinking her golden eyes repeated at the look on his face and what he said. "Wha… I don't understand?"

"I want to stay with Doc, Daniel and Hamish on the ship," Kidd repeated. "I don't want you to get into the fight."

"Why not?" She continued to press on with the questions, still confused on why.

"Because," Kidd said quietly, his tone so soft as he touched her cheeks with only his finger tips. "This is probably one of the biggest fights we are going to be in since that one at the Marine Base months ago. I don't want you to get hurt like that again." He told her, his fingers brushing against the scarred skin.

"Kidd, I can handle this," She sighed, placing her hand over his as she balanced a wiggly Hamish in one arm.

"I almost lost you, Gabriella," Kidd bluntly said, his brow knotting together. "I don't want to go through that again."

"I'll be fin—"

"_No_," Kidd growled, almost snarling at her. "I'd rather be safe than sorry."

She rolled her eyes at the way he was reacting and shooed his hand away from cradling her cheek. "I'm not some china doll, Kidd. You can't just lock me up when the world gets shaky that I might fall over and break then let me out when you think it's safe. I'm a fighter. I know the world is a dangerous place with dangerous people and I learned how to fight them, avoid them, trick them, anything," she explained, but the look of disapproval on Kidd's face just made her feel something bitter swelling up in her gut. She didn't feel like explaining herself any longer. "Now if you'll excuse me," she grumbled and pushed passed him. "I need to get to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>Hamish and Dannie were safe under the care of Doc in his infirmary, deep within the belly of ship. With the concern of the boy and the puppy out of her mind, she headed up to deck, her eyes instinctively locking onto Kidd's form, the large bundle of red fur covering his back and the gleam of his mechanical arm in the sunlight almost blinding her. Her mind told her to go to his side like she always did; they were like a power couple, but she didn't appreciate his comment about him not wanting her to fight. True, she could see where he was coming from, but like she said; she wasn't some delicate china doll. She was a fighter; she's been trained to fight for years. And yes, she did get these scars from a terrible, unexpected fight, but she grew from that fight, making her stronger like everyone else who was there and lived through the battle. Didn't Kidd see that?<p>

She couldn't answer that, but she wasn't going to worry about it now and she also didn't want Kidd to worry about it either. They could talk about it later; they needed to get their minds in the game of war because it was coming up soon.

Her feet pivoted and she found herself walking towards Bedros and Madeline, standing between the two as they stood by the railing waiting for the ships to come into view. They didn't say anything to her, so she questioned: "Where's Calamity?" Which was a legitimate questioned because she hadn't seen her teacher in a few hours.

"Mother said she had to get some rest," Bedros said with a frown. "She said something didn't feel right, making her weak."

That made Gabriella frown, concerned for her teacher. "Is something draining her power?"

Madeline shook her head. "No, because if something was than we would all," she motioned to the three of them, summoner mages and devil. "Be feeling drained, too."

"Ah," Gabriella nodded, agreeing with her peer. "That's right. I should have remembered that from classes…"

"You were too busy drooling over Master Jovus to do that," Madeline teased, nudging her peer in the side with a smirk. "He was your first crush and all," she continued with a girlish giggle, making Gabriella roll her eyes.

"_Oh~?_" Bedros mused, his red eyes gleaming at the new bit of information. "He's a teacher at Calamity's school, right? And you had a crush on him?" He looked at Gabriella with a growing smirk.

"That's right," Madeline cut in quickly, ready to dish the dirt so easily about her friend to a devil, which actually sounded worse than it really was. "When Calamity was out, Master Jovus would look over the class we were in and Gabriella used to always tell me she wished Calamity would go out more often," she said with a wink.

"Really now?" Bedros continued in amusement, chuckling lightly and then continued talking like Gabriella wasn't right there. It wasn't like it bothered her; it was just the fact that she was standing there between them as they chatted away.

"It's true," Madeline went out with a cheeky smile. "You see, Gabriella liked him because he was an elf like her—"

"I'm half elf," Gabriella corrected.

Madeline ignored her. "And so that's why she liked him, also because he was a really sweet guy, considering the fact that she's Caden's Heir and what people say, you know? But she didn't want him to find out, so she would always play tricks on him. She left him with mixed emotions on whether she liked him, as a teacher nothing creepy like that, or didn't like him."

"I see," Bedros hummed lightly, a smirk playing on his lips. "That's an interesting little story, now isn't it, eh?"

"It wouldn't do well for black mail though," Gabriella commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because I don't care."

"But Kidd would," Bedros countered smugly.

That made Gabriella's brow rise with interest. "So you're trying to sabotage my relationship with Kidd?"

Bedros's smirk fell to a frown. "Err… I didn't mean it like that. I meant it as a prank type thing?" He sounded unsure of himself, but Gabriella knew he didn't mean any real harm, or at least not on purpose anyway.

So she just patted his shoulder with a sigh and a smile. "It's okay, don't worry about it. We're in a fight right now anyway."

"Another one?" Madeline scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You guys have so many fights, you know?"

"But they do make up pretty fast, too," Bedros added his two cents.

"That is true," Madeline agreed, but then she turned to Gabriella. "So, what was the fight about this time?"

"He wanted me to stay on the ship with Doc," Gabriella replied, her hand absentmindedly going up to rub her cheek with the scars. "He said that he didn't want me to get hurt again."

"_Awe~!_" Madeline gushed girlishly, making Bedros roll his eyes, but the thin summoner mage paid no attention to the stone devil and continued. "That's so _sweet~!_"

"It might be," Gabriella said slowly, but then she paused, pressing her lips together. "But I don't want him to think I'm someone he always has to protect. To be like a burden, you know? I can handle myself."

Bedros placed a firm hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in a comforting way, which was an uncommon thing the stone devil did. "He knows that, but even if he's having his doubts then you can reassure him today," he explained, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of cannon balls firing off in the distance.

Everyone on deck went to the railing, looking over to see the familiar ships of Owen and Block already knee deep in battle with two large warships under Big Mom's flag. They were close enough to see the fires started to collect on the decks of all ships, the water around sea vessels stained crimson. That's when Kidd started to bark his orders to the crew, getting them mentally ready for battle and hopefully that would help them physically. This was the biggest battle on the sea they were going to have and Kidd was going to get what he wanted, which was to be on top.

Another squeeze to her shoulder brought Gabriella to look at Bedros once more and he smirked lightly. "Looks like it's your time to show Kidd that you can handle yourself."

* * *

><p>The fight was an overall success, though there were a few deaths on Block's and Owen's crew when they were fighting alone, but when Kidd came, it was like the odds were evened out. Then when Donavan and the other crew he was bringing came, they out numbered Big Mom's ships easily allowing them to take care of those thing besides fighting the enemy like treating the wounded on all the ships by hauling them down to the infirmaries. Also putting out the flurry of fires decorating their allies ships, which was something Gabriella helped out with along with Madeline by summoning demons of the deep sea, the fish-like creatures spitting out water like a fire hose.<p>

The demons then proved to be excellent for fighting within the battle after that since the high-speed, powerful cannon of water would actually drown the enemy if they were locked onto the attack long enough. It was a good distraction as well, keeping the enemy at bay while groups traveled into the depths of the ships to steal the loot, though…there seemed to be more candy than gold in either ship, which truly pissed off Kidd. And when Kidd was pissed, he did more twisted and evil things than normal. Usually he would have just left the lot to burn in hell as he set the ships to a blazing inferno, but this time he made sure to round up all living pirates under Big Mom's flag, tying up half while he held the other half a bay.

The pirates under the Pirate Emperor were beaten beyond belief: swelled cheeks, black eyes and blood gushing from open wounds. They weren't going to last much longer, everyone could see that; the enemy doctors of the ship were the first to go. Kidd wanted to end it quickly for them though, maybe because he wanted to rush out of rage or maybe because he wanted to scare the men shitless, letting them know that they were going to die in a matter of minutes. Though Kidd didn't leave it just that, he had another plan to torture the poor souls.

He had his men push the tied up enemy pirates on their knees, like they were bowing before Kidd, the pirate captain soaking up the feeling, the feeling of him already being The King. He smirked devilish at the line up at his feet, staring down at the broken men, and then he waved over to his crew that was holding the other half of men to side and ordered to have them positioned to stand behind the kneeing Big Mom pirates. Then those pirates were given a small knifes and forced to slit the throats of their own crew.

The look on the Big Mom Pirates' was the look of guilty despair; a look that Kidd fed on, laughing wildly as the pirates actually did it with, their hands shaking as they hesitantly put blades to their own comrades' necks and then sliced the skin to allow a crimson waterfall to come out. Kidd didn't stop there though, he continued this until the deck was a thick sticky pool of blood and there were only two men left, and then one when the last throat was slit.

The last pirate went to his knees, looking down at his trembling hands splattered with blood. Kidd deemed him to be worthless after that and called over Jacques, telling him to get the explosives ready. The bomber did as he was told and with the help of Nicholas, the two were able to rig a system that would detonate the bombs from a secure place without having to rush anything. And once all ships under Kidd's flag were safely away from Big Mom's ships, Jacques gave Kidd the honor of pressing the bright red button that exploded what remains of ships to nothing but a glow of orange flames.

The fire lit up the night, causing all the crews to go into party mood and that's when Gabriella chose to leave, not only because of all the horny men calling her _Exotic Scarlet_ and treating her like a local barmaid, wanting her to get them beer, but the other reason was because of the crew that was joining…it was Token's crew.

Why the man that hated Kidd wanted to join him baffled her, and everyone. Maybe it was like the old saying goes: keep your friends closer, but keep your enemies even closer. Kidd didn't like it at all and wanted to kill him on the spot, but Owen advised him that it would be a bad idea if he started killing off his fleet for petty reasons. Token wanting him dead didn't seem like a petty reason in Kidd's book, but in truth it was the other way around. Token just wanted to ruin Kidd's love life because apparently Kidd ruined Token's with the mysterious woman named April. So, that left Kidd with a lot of bent up anger which he let out by beating up Token in a drunken boxing match instead.

Gabriella, feeling like she was indirectly in the middle of this…issue, decided that she would tune out and go back to her room, though she picked up Daniel and Hamish along the way. She sat on the couch, just singing softly to the young boy as he rested his head in her lap, drifting off to sleep as he held Hamish like a teddy bear in his arms. Daniel was almost asleep, but then Kidd burst through the door, waking up the boy and the puppy instantly.

Daniel yelped in fight, scrambling to sit in her lap and buried his face into her chest, trying to hide from Kidd's intimidating form, but Hamish's reaction was different. He jumped from the couch in a blur, barking happily at Kidd's feet as the pirate captain rushed to the bathroom, mumbling curses as he went.

"Stay here, honey," Gabriella whispered, prying Daniel from her chest and placed him on the couch where he snatched up a pillow, hugging it to death. Patting him gently on the head, she then turned towards the bathroom and walked in on Kidd treating a bloody nose, the countertop already littered with red stained tissues; obviously Kidd didn't know how a treat a bloody nose properly or he was just too mad to care. "How'd you get that?" She questioned, leaning against the doorframe.

"Fuckin' Token," Kidd hissed, his tone muffled sounding because of the tissues over his brusied nose.

"He beat you in a fight?" She asked, feeling her eyes grow wide; that was something she wasn't excpeting to hear.

"No," Kidd scoffed, rolling his eyes, but then he winced at the pain from his nose. "He just got one lucky shot. I beat his ass into the ground and hopefully he won't get back up."

"That just sounds too easy for a guy like Token," Gabriella commented, crouching down to pick up Hamish that was jumping up at her knees with puppy dog eyes, telling her he wanted to be held.

"I wish it was," Kidd huffed, throwing away the bloodied tissues and then replaced them with clean ones. "But you're right, it would be too easy…" he mumbled then sighed, leaning against the sink's counter top with a hand. "I have a bad feeling though."

"About Token?" Gabriella asked, stepping over to stand beside him, looking at the grim expression on his face.

"Not just him," Kidd answered, a frown tugging down on the corner of his lips. "But so much more."

* * *

><p>Smoke fluttered up from the cigarette as the lone Marine stood out on watch for the night. He leaned against his rifle, taking out the cigarette from between his lips and blew out a large puff of smoke, the cloud drifting off into the night. He was tried of waiting for the shift change, but the man was late, not that he minded since nothing was happening that night, or like any other night for that matter.<p>

"_Hey!_" A voice from behind called out to him and he looked over his shoulder to see his replacement running towards him, still shoving his foot into his boot. "Sorry I'm late, man. I totally over slept."

He just grunted; this guy was still a kid whereas he was older, years of being in the marines starting to wear him down. "No problem, kid, but use an alarm clock next time. After a few years, you'll find out that your bunk mates don't matter as much when it comes to certain things."

"Ah…" the young marine nodded, but then something caught his attention and he looked off in the distance of the woods before them. "Is that a…girl?" He questioned, pointing towards her in the shadows.

He looked over his shoulder and saw that there was a woman standing there. "Hey you!" He called out to her, but she didn't move. Then he sighed. "Come on," he waved the young marine to follow him. "Let's see what's up."

The young marine nodded and followed him, the soles of their boots crushing the dead leafs underneath, which actually brought him into high alert. This was a Spring Island; there shouldn't been so many dead leafs on the ground and when he looked around, he noticed that even the trees were withering away. This didn't look good, neither for him or the young marine and it just got worse for them.

It felt like their lungs were being crushed to bits, their skin melting away to ash as they bones withered away. It was true pain, the worst way to die as they fell at the feet of the woman. He tried to move, tried to speak, but he only shuttered with pain as he wheezed for air. His vision was going dark, all his senses fading out, but before he entered eternal night, he heard the woman say one last thing, and it was a confusing thing to hear before he died.

"_Whither he? My lover, whither he, for he, if the one that I must kill by my controller's command._"

* * *

><p>Sorry that there wasn't a big fight scene. I thought it would just be to crazy with all the crews fighting at once, plus that would have been a pretty long chapter since this was one is a longer one than normal.<p> 


	52. Chapter 51: Grouchy and Sick

Guest: Thank you for liking the chapter and I hope this chapter satisfied your want for more.

La: I'm glad that you like my longer chapters and I hope you are enjoying them. That is Genie you spy, and the two do have an Aladdin theme. I was watching it so it just clicked, you know? Also, I can't comment to who Genie wants to kill and why. It's a massive spoiler. :D

Tigereye13: Thanks for the edits. I'm learning from my mistakes in Bones and fixing them in His Heir. Or, it's because Kidd's and Gabriella's relationship is much different than Law's and Ameria's, so, yeah. Now, I have no comments to Genie. All about her will be revealed in due time.

Alpenwolf: Copy Cat doesn't have a sister and it's not a mage with rotting magic. Look at what the speaker said and you will see who it is.

Son of Whitebeard: Doflamingo isn't the controller. It is no one cannon.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 51: Grouchy and Sick.<p>

Three days. That's how long the victory party lasted. Gabriella would admit that it was a grand feat to take down some of the top vessels under a Pirate Emperor's flag, but the party was just overkill. A few hours was understandable, but making it drag out seventy two hours was just too much, and no, just because the party left the ships' decks to a nearby island didn't count even though they argued that they were now celebrating because they took over that little island to continue the former party. It was all just an excuse to Gabriella and she simply sat at the bar beside Owen's first mate, also known as his wife, watching the party rage on.

Gabriella didn't pay much attention to any of the crews, because they were all just acting... inappropriate in her opinion even though their acts were justified since they were all pirates. But she did pay attention to Madeline since her best friend was sorta... harassing Killer. She knew for a fact that Madeline could get pretty crazy, but ever since the thin summoner mage met the masked blonde, her craziness had went through the roof. Granted, not a lot of men wore masks, one exception being George, but George wasn't as violent as Killer was. Maybe Madeline was also attracted to being beaten; it was crazy, but sadly, it wouldn't have surprised Gabriella in any way.

"Idiot..." A voice mumbled beside her and Gabriella looked over to see Owen's wife looking off to the side with a narrow glare.

Gabriella also looked in that direction and saw that it was Kidd the other woman was watching, which made the summoner mage shake her head at Owen's wife. She would never leave Kidd alone, her years of blood lust just wanting to be unleashed, but the woman looked young for her age believe it or not. If Gabriella didn't know better she would have thought that the pirate wife was in her late twenties rather than late forties. There were only a few wrinkles around the woman's eyes, which was a surprise since she was always scowling at something, and her current object of rage was Kidd. She never liked Kidd since the first day they met, and she was glaring at him like she was ready to throw daggers in his back, but she remained seated, knowing that her attacks always failed, thanks to the summoner mage intervening every time.

But she just couldn't sit there and do nothing; she had to talk smack. "He's a moron, that bastard," she scoffed, turning around on the stool and rested her elbow back on the bar for support as she took a large, unlady-like swig of her tanker of beer. "I don't see how you can be with a man like _that_," she continued, glancing over at the summoner mage with narrow brown eyes, like she was trying to peer into her mind to find the answer.

It was an insult to Kidd, probably even to Gabriella, but she didn't think it was a good idea to start a cat fight in a bar with a bunch of horny drunk men. That was a bad picture in her mind, so she just shrugged. "Things happen for a reason, Anna," was her answer to the pirate wife.

"You don't say," Anna huff with a sarcastic tone in her voice and she flipped a lock of brown hair over her shoulder, but then something caught her attention from the corner of her eyes and they narrowed darkly. "Get lost you little motherfucker," she barked, and Gabriella thought that it was Kidd, but when she looked, she saw that it wasn't her red headed captain, but rather a different pirate captain. And it wasn't one either female pirate wanted to see; that was one thing the women could agree to.

"I'm not here for you, Madam Anna," Donavan tsked sweetly, straddling up on the barstool next to Gabriella, leaning in too close for comfort. "I believe I'm here to see little Miss Scarlet," he whispered smoothly, flicking a lock of ginger hair over her shoulder. "She's an…exotic one, isn't she?"

Anna just scoffed, turning her attention elsewhere in the room.

Gabriella's nose scrunched up in disgust and she leaned away from the pirate captain's smug, arrogance, and lustful aura that was just swimming around her like a terrible stench from rotten milk. She never liked the man, he was too forward, even with Kidd breathing down his back with death swarming every punch. Donavan was slick like his brown hair gelled back to make him look like a player, a rich man with money. True, Donavan was the richest of the pirate captain's in Kidd's fleet, but he was probably the weakest, like Owen was the brain's of the group, Block was the muscle and Kidd was obviously the leader. They balanced each other out and their arrangements seemed to work to a certain degree, there were some things that got in the way; like Donavan hitting on Gabriella all the time.

"I still find you incredibly sexy, even with that face you always give me, Exotic Scarlet," Donavan moaned, his fingers brushing suggestively along her cheek and down her neck, following the scars that graced her skin. "Hey, so how 'bout we go somewhere more…_private_, eh?"

"Leave me alone, Donavan," she spat bitterly, swatting his wandering hand away from her form. "You know Kidd will skin your hide if you try anything."

"_Awe_," Donavan cooed, cocking his head to the side with a smug smirk. "That's so sweet for you to think of my health, but I assure you, Kidd's too tied up right now…"

"_Guess again_," was the snarled respond that came from behind.

That made Donavan jump in his seat and also Anna, but the pirate wife jumped out of her seat instead, grumbling a soft curse then went over to sit beside her husband with a scowl that sent Owen straight to the dog house. Though the pirate wife leaving was ignored after that and the next thing that was the focus of attention was Donavan being lifted from his seat by a pale hand with a black painted fingernails.

Kidd scowled at him darkly, but Gabriella noticed something off in his expression. It was slight, barely unnoticeable, but Gabriella could see it as clear as day: something was wrong with Kidd, but that didn't seem to effect him. "Watch Block," Kidd ordered the commanding captain of his fleet. "You know what happens if he gets too drunk."

"Oh fuck," Donavan grumbled, hanging his head. "Why do I have to be on Block duty?"

"Because I said so," Kidd muttered grumpily and shoved the man in his hand towards the abnormally large ogre in the middle of the bar, singing tunes like a drunken, out of key fool.

Donavan huffed, adjusting his shirt shortly before turning towards Gabriella one last time with a million dollar smile. "I hope to see you soon," he said. "And in _that_ way, and I know you know what I mean," he added on with a chuckle then turned away from Kidd's reach before he got strangled.

Though Kidd did nothing but scowl at Donavan's retreating back and then he plopped down in the barstool beside her, folding his arms over the wooden surface of the bar and then laid his head on top.

Gabriella blinked at the uncharacteristic actions and she leaned over closer to Kidd, placing at hand on his head, running her fingers through his locks of brilliant red hair. "What's wrong?" She questioned, gently kissing the side of his temple.

Kidd mumbled something, but his voice was too muffled to hear through all the fluff of his coat.

Gabriella sighed, pulling at his hair lightly to lift his head so she could see it and her eyes widened at what she saw. He was paler than normal, his skin so white, a sickly white and his eye lids were drooping, a lazy look that mixed with a sleepy one. He even had a light red nose, but it was hard to tell with the bruise that he got from Token. Seeing that look on his face made her place the back of her hand to his forehand, but then snatched it back right away just a quickly. "Kidd, you're bur—"

"_Don't_," He snapped weakly, breathing heavily through his mouth, making his voice sound breathy. "Don't say it."

"Kidd you're…something's wrong," She tried to reason with him. "I think you should go get Doc and—"

"_No_," Kidd told her sternly then took a deep breath in then out. "Just…don't…"

Gabriella was fully ready to argue with him, but Kidd looked ready to keel over any second and it wouldn't look good if his fleet saw him fall over unconscious; he was supposed to be the leader of the pack and a little thing like this wasn't supposed to happen to him. So she comprised with him, for now. "At least let's go to the room," She said, hopping down from her seat and tugged on his arm to help him up. "You need some rest, okay?"

Kidd just nodded, getting up shakily on wobbly legs, but it went unnoticed by all. They all probably thought he was drunk.

All the way up the stairs and down the hall, Kidd wouldn't stop groaning in pain, clutching his forehead and his feet started to drag along the floor, making Gabriella's job so much harder. She draped his arm over her shoulders, trudging along with an annoyed scowl all the way until they were in the privacy of their room. "Do you want me to get you any medicine?" She asked, helping him with taking off his coat.

"_No_," Kidd snapped forcefully, and Gabriella could have sworn that she saw him cringe, but it would have also as easily been a chill, so she cast it aside. "Just…no. I don't need anything."

"Are you sure?" She continued questioning him as she slung his coat over the back of a chair nearby. "It will only take a second—"

"No," Kidd repeated once more, kicking off his boots and then rolled under the covers of the bed. "Just get into bed," he ordered, slapping the empty space beside him. "That'll make me feel…better."

"Yeah…" she drew out slowly, knowing for a fact what he wanted, but she wasn't going to risk that; she didn't want to get sick, too. "I have to do something first, be right back," and before Kidd could say anything about getting you know who, the door was already shut and she was on her way to getting that one person Kidd didn't want to see.

* * *

><p>Kidd had a dark scowl etched into his features as he leaned against the bed frame with his arms crossed over his chest stiffly. His eyes were boring into Gabriella's and he would have ground his teeth together, but it was kinda hard because to do that with the thermometer under his tongue since his stupid summoner mage went out of her way to do the one thing he didn't want her to do: getting Doctor Dick.<p>

Doc remained stoic the whole time, hands stuffed deeply in the pockets of his medical coat as he rolled the butt of his cigarette between his teeth. After a moment, he then removed one of his hands from his pockets to snatch the thermometer from the pirate captain's mouth. "Hmm," he hummed as he examined it the number the mercury in the small tube went up to. "Yup, you're sick," he announced then turned on his heel to leave.

"Whoa wait," Gabriella stepped in front of the doctor, blocking his path. "That's all you're gonna do; say he's sick. Aren't you gonna give him something? He is sick and needs to get better soon."

Doc sighed, shaking his head slowly. "You really don't know, do you?" He questioned, making the summoner mage stare at him blankly, so he sighed again. "You can't say the 'm' word in front of these guys," he explained and jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the scowling Kidd in bed and also Killer and Chamberlain who were standing at the side lines. "It's a psychological thing."

Gabriella blinked in complete confusion at the random comment in her opinion. "What the hell…?"

Doc sighed deeply, his shoulders falling and rising dramatically. "They all cringe when you say the word_ medicine_," he stressed the word, and it was true, the three pirates did cringe when the word was said.

Gabriella didn't know what to think of that and she could only ask one thing: "_Why?_"

"Don't know," Doc shrugged, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Though Kidd did mention something about his mother before…" He trailed off in thought, but then he shrugged and started for the door again while saying. "If his mother caused those three to act like _that_ then I would never want to meet her, but anyway, there's nothing I can do now," and he walked out the door, leaving Gabriella gawking in silence.

* * *

><p>Kidd groaned into the pillow, his head pounding with a painful headache which made it terribly hard to get any rest. It had been years since the last time he got sick, which was when he went to his first Winter Island and caught a small cold. He would admit that this time around wasn't as bad, but the headache was still monstrous, driving him up the walls. He could do nothing but lay there in bed for three days, having Killer lie to his commanding fleet captains that he had the worse hang over ever, which was why he couldn't see them off. Not that Kidd cared if he saw them leave, but he did have orders for them to do: recruit more crews, take over more islands and take down more rivals. Killer was able to pass the word, so he could rest up, but Kidd hated laying around doing nothing; it sucked.<p>

He moaned in discomfort, feeling way too lazy to even roll over when he felt the bed shift ever so lightly. He tried to ignore it, but it continued. So with a groan, he looked up from the pillow and over his shoulder grumpily, seeing that Hamish had jumped up and started to explode the thick comforter, walking slowly over the thick fabric. Then the puppy noticed Kidd looking at him and barked happily, bounding over to him quickly, sniffing Kidd's face, which made Kidd plant his face back into the pillow. "Go away…" he grumbled when he felt the puppy licking the exposed skin that the pillow couldn't hide.

Hamish seemed to understand the command and listened, leaving Kidd's personal space, but only for a moment because the puppy came right back and climbed up onto Kidd's back. Kidd grunted when he felt the little claws digging into the skin of his bare back, but Hamish ignored Kidd's fidgeting to try and shake him off and simply curled up in a tight ball on his lower back to take a nap.

"God damn it…" Kidd mumbled with a sigh, but he'd admit that Hamish's little furry body was warm to his exposed skin, making him feel a bit more comfortable than before, but only by a little bit. Though Kidd could be thankful that he at least had a piece of quiet…until he heard the door open.

"_Awe~_," he heard the voice of his summoner mage coming into the room as her heels clicked against the wooden floorboards, but Kidd made no effort to look up at her and just kept his face buried deep into the fluffiness of his pillow. "That's so cute, Kidd~," she cooed, flopping down on the side of the bed, much to Kidd's annoyance since the movement of the mattress affected his headache.

He grumbled a small curse under his breath, his ears picking up a small click of china touching the wooden nightstand, but then his grumbling turned into a deep moan when he felt her hands rubbing the tense muscles of his shoulders. The softness of her hands worked into the kinks he didn't even know he had because of his headache. It felt like feathers to him, a lightness that was actually making him feel sleepy, but the idea of taking a nap was thrown out the window when Gabriella leaned over to speak into his ear.

"How're you feeling?" She whispered softly, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear.

"Better than before," he admitted truthfully, even if he didn't get his nap. "I only have a headache now," he continued, turning his head to the side so he could look at her.

"That's good," she smiled then sat up straight, still rubbing his shoulders gently. "Oh, and, I brought you something," she said, tapping his shoulder blade. "I think you'll like it."

Kidd really didn't feel like moving; it seemed like too much work, but another tap to his back told him to move and he lazily got up, ending Hamish's nap abruptly and the puppy bounded away to the other side of the bed as Kidd rolled over on his back and then sat up. He leaned against the bed frame with a sigh, but then grunted in surprise as something jumped into his lap, which turned out to be Hamish returning to finish his nap that was cut short.

Gabriella giggled as her puppy turned around in a circle, getting comfortable on the pirate captain's lap, which made Kidd scowl at her darkly. She ignored his harsh glare and turned to the nightstand, gently picking up a white mug from the surface and then held it out to Kidd. "I made you some tea. It'll help with your cold."

"Hmm," Kidd grunted, taking the mug from her hands and placed it at his lips, but before he could take a sip, something potent reached his nose. "Ugh," he took the mug away from his mouth and scrunched his nose in disgust. "You put something in this, didn't you?"

"_Well~_," Gabriella drawled sheepishly, scratching the side of her cheek that was tinted a pinkish color. "I may have put in a little bit of med—stuff to help you feel better."

Kidd narrowed his eyes dramatically, his brows knotting together in rage and then he threw the mug across the room, the glass shattering to pieces as the liquid contents splashed against the wall. The sound made Hamish jump from his lap with a terrified yelp and he dash away to somewhere; where that was Kidd didn't know nor did he care because his full attention was on his summoner mage. "Fuck you," he hissed and lunged forward, causing a mild struggle to break out between them, but it didn't last long because Kidd over powered her even when he was sick. Or it was because she didn't fight back, but Kidd wasn't going to get into the details.

"Damn it, Kidd!" She snapped, shoving her hands to his chest to create distance. "I was trying to help!"

"You tried to trick me!" He countered, grabbing her wrists and pinned the above her head.

"I was trying to help!" She repeated, glaring up at him in annoyance. "Is it wrong for me to try and help you get better?"

Kidd opened his mouth to say _yes_, but then he slowly closed it. In a sense, no it wasn't wrong. Granted how she went about it was wrong, trying to trick him to take something without him knowing. But, it was the thought that counted, right? He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and then opened them. "I guess…" he agreed, but he wasn't going to let her get away with it and he had the perfect plan to get back. "But the way you went about it, isn't gonna fly…" he whispered huskily and leaned in closer to her.

That made Gabriella's eyes widen. "Get away!" She squeaked, turning her head to the side to avoid his advances. "You're sick! You're gonna get me sick, too!"

Kidd just scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna get you sick," he murmured, brushing his lips against her cheek and then he chuckled deeply. "It's been days and I shouldn't be contagious anymore, like Doc says." He explained, leaning in to kiss her cheek again. "Now make me feel better, eh?"

* * *

><p>Gabriella leaned against the bed frame, holding Musket in her arms like a teddy bear along with a box of tissues for her stuffy nose. Only twenty four hours after she '<em>made Kidd feel better<em>' she got his little cold and was forced to stay in bed…with the man the caused the sickness. "I hate you," she grumbled, snatching a tissue from the box and blew her nose, feeling disgusted with herself. She hated being sick; it made her feel icky, gross and weak. "I really, _really_ hate you," she stressed, tossing the tissue into the waste basket she had pulled up beside the bed.

"Hmm," Kidd grunted, leaning against the bed frame as well as he flipped through the channels of the television, the den-den mushi receiver's eyes glowing bright white on and off with each click of the remote. "You shouldn't say things you don't mean."

"No," she disagreed, sniffling lightly as she reached for another tissue. "I think I mean it this time."

Kidd looked over at her, a brow rising as he clicked off the television, making the den-den mushi receiver go to sleep automatically. "You sure 'bout that?" He questioned, tossing the remote to the side and then leaned in close to her.

Gabriella leaned away slightly, but then her attention turned to her familiar since Musket seemed to sense something was going to happen and he started struggling to be released from her grasps. Once Gabriella let go, the familiar flew away into the safety of the bathroom. She watched him leave, but when she felt foreign skin touched her arm, her attention went back to Kidd closing in on her. "I'm positive," Gabriella muttered.

Kidd just smirked, grinning from ear to ear; like he enjoyed her denial. "You're a liar," he chuckled, embracing her and tried to kiss her, but that didn't happen.

Gabriella shoved her hands to his chest to make distance and turned her head to the side to avoid him. "_No!_" She shouted at him almost in a childish fashion. "Kissing you is what got me stuck in this mess of being sick!"

"Com'on," Kidd slurred, using his recovering strength to overcome her and pulled her closer. "Gimme a kiss."

"_No!_" Gabriella squealed, struggle to break his grip. "You got me sick and you don't get kisses for that. Plus I hate you at the moment," she grunted, trying to get him away, but he had days of rest whereas she was hit hard with the first day of sickness, so he was proving to win the battle of dominance.

Kidd rolled his eyes. "You don't hate me," he corrected smoothly. "You know you love me," he teased in a taunting way that made Gabriella's blood boil because he was joking about such a thing. This freeze for rage allowed him to get close enough to finally plant a kiss on her, but it was only on her jaw.

"_Ceh_," She scoffed, shaking her head to get his lips away from her personal space. "Well, I don't right now."

"Well, I do," Kidd replied softly, making the summoner mage freeze again which allowed him to kiss her easily on the lips. Then he pulled away, looking in confusion at the lack of sudden emotion and shocked expression on her face and then it hit him. He scrambled away, his eyes wide and his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

There were only a few things that could turn Kidd red: being called a sex addict, being called a father to a dog, and Trafalgar Law. Of course, that was one that Madeline brought up when Kidd turned red, but she thought it was..._something else_ when it was actually rage because he saw his rival make headline news in the paper where Kidd should have been. That caused Gabriella to joke around, asking if there was a secret side of him she didn't know about, but that wasn't important right now; it was what Kidd just said.

He just said he loved her.

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><p>I don't know if they have television in the One Piece world, but I decided they would, maybe?<p> 


	53. Chapter 52: Something Stolen

I'm. So. HAPPY! Guess who's back in One Piece? (**MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!**) KIDD, and OMG, his new outfit is epically awesome! Though, believe it or not, he's wearing a shirt! Doesn't do much with covering his chest, but eh, that's a good thing. ;) And I'm glad I added that Hawkins thing way back in past chapters, now it gives Kidd and Killer a reason to call him. Now, guess who's going to be coming in a near future arc of His Heir. ;D

So, anyway, this chapter is short because I have been playing an epic online game for the past four days. It has to do with pirates and magic, which you all know is my two favorite things. So, sorry about the shortness and I'll try and get a longer chapter to you guys next week. :D

akagami hime chan: Kidd is lucky compared to Law: he gets sex and his fights with Gabriella don't last forever. P.S. I died of laughter when you said Law's not gonna be making babies. I don't know why, but that just tickled me pink.

bRoKEnhEaRTscROsSovEr: _Awe~,_ thanks, that makes me feel special. :)

Tigereye13: If Law knew a lot about Kidd, there would be a lot of shit going down. Though, Kidd could always throw: _I got laid first_, thing on Law, that would burst his bubble.

Alpenwolf: I can't wait for the day that Gabriella meets Kidd's mom. Let's see how _that_ turns out.

Guest: Yes! He finally said it! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 52: Something Stolen.<p>

He tapped his fingernails against the thick wood of the desk with an elbow propped up on the armrest of his chair, watching the door impatiently for his informant to hurry up with the news that his…little scheme to separate _Exotic Scarlet_ from her captain worked just liked he wanted. Though he could only wait to see if it did, which he hoped it did. There were rumors that Kidd could be coming to this island based on the path he has taken so far; it was a one out of three chance that the pirate captain did come this way. The odds were against him on this one, but he gambled and was feeling pretty lucky on his roll of dice. Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd was going to come to the Marine Base whether he liked it or not.

He chuckled lightly at the thought, but then his laughter was cut short when the door creaked open, making him look up to see who was there. A smirk graced his lips when he saw the pink hair shimmering in the light. "Ah, so you're back," he mused, leaning further back into the cushions of his seat. "I was waiting quite a while for you…Abigail."

Abigail scowled at him like she willed her emerald eyes to shoot beams of fire at him, but nothing happen, so she just scoffed rudely and ripped the wig from her head, letting her red hair tumble down her back and shoulders like a wave. Then with a snarl, she threw the wig to the ground. "I cannot believe you made me dress up like that love-struck pirate wench, _Jonathan._" she barked bitterly, slamming her heel into the fake clump of hair under foot. "Do you know how heavy one of those…_baby_ things is? Too heavy that's what; it threw off my balance for pity's sake! I threw it into the sea after I was done."

"Oh," he blinked, his smile melting to a frown. "That's_ Vice Admiral_ Jonathan to you, Abigail," he corrected curtly, a smirk coming back to his lips. "Plus I would have though you would want a break from Justice. I know you hate him."

Abigail scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and then rolled her eyes. "Comparing him to you; I_ love_ Justice, which is saying something because I generally hate him all around."

Jonathan scowled at that, but he decided that it was best to move the subject along to the more important one at hand. "So, did my plan work?"

"How should I know?" She huffed in annoyance. "I was only to be a messenger, not a spy, too. Now,_ 'good'_ day," she mocked, flipping a lock of red hair over her shoulder and turned on the heel her foot to leave the room.

Jonathan blinked in shock, but before he could say anything, the door of his office was slammed shut with a brutal _bang_. He slouched in his seat, grumbling that he should have planned his scheme out a little bit better…

* * *

><p>Kidd stared at her. They had been like this for at least a few minutes; just staring blankly into each others eyes and blinking every now and then. She didn't say anything; she looked too shocked to say anything, hell, he was too shocked to say anything either. He never thought he would say it to her. It's not like he never thought about it, but when the idea of telling her popped up, he would push everything about that away. He always felt…stupid for ignoring his feelings, but he also didn't want to feel stupid when her response wasn't the one he wanted. Sorta like now.<p>

He just confessed and she didn't say anything. Granted, she looked too shocked to say anything, but she should have said _something_ by now. That caused his pale skin to rise with heat, prickling back to a deep shade of embarrassed crimson because he just made a fool out of himself by saying that he _loved_ her. He needed to get out of there fast; he didn't want to make things any worse than they already were.

"I gotta go," he slurred, the words coming out in a messy quick line of a sentence, but he didn't care; he just jumped out of bed quicker than he had ever before. It would have been a new personal best, but he was too ashamed to worry about it.

He rushed out of the room, not hearing a peep from Gabriella as he slammed the door behind him and he didn't know if that could be considered a good thing or a bad one. Debating it would have probably just thrown his mood into another realm he did **not** even want to think of, so he just worried about his task at hand: get as far away from the room as possible.

Which he did, taking every turn he could until he was lost in the inn. He knew that because he couldn't hear his crew in the dinning area downstairs anymore. The island may have been small, but it did have a pretty big inn, Kidd was experiencing that first hand. It was completely silent where he was and for once, he was okay with it. He needed to be in solitude for a long time after what happened; alone time was the best treatment for this problem.

Walking over to the closest wall, he rammed his forehead against it repeatedly, chanting the words: "Stupid, stupid, stupid," over and over again with each light bang. Then he stopped before he could get a headache and he just thought over what happened.

It was a simple thing his mind went through; he told her he loved her and she didn't respond…out of shock. Then he went through the reasons of her prolonged shock, maybe it was because he was, well, him: a feared pirate didn't just tell a girl he loved her. But Gabriella wasn't just any girl, she was _his_ girl. After everything they'd been through, he would have thought she would have answered with at least a question. _Really?_ Would have been what she asked. He could just hear her saying that in his mind, but no, she said_ nothing._

He growled at that conclusion and cursed himself for making things go deeper than they should have and he pushed it all away, but it wasn't enough. The thoughts wouldn't go away and now he was starting to hate the silence because it wasn't distracting him from what was going on through his head. So Kidd did the only thing he could do: he pulled back from the wall, bringing back an arm and with a roar, rammed his mechanical fist into the wall, creating a hole in its wake. He inhaled and exhaled sharply, his breath ragged like he was fighting a war in reality rather than in his own mind; he would admit that it helped, but it wasn't enough. He needed more.

"Kidd?" His name was called and he looked around, recognizing the voice of his navigator, but he saw no one, but then he heard Chamberlain speak again. "You know there is a door right?"

He blinked in confusion and then turned his attention to the wall, looking through the hole he just made and saw Chamberlain. There was a look of mild annoyance on the navigator's features, which actually meant Chamberlain was pretty pissed off at him right now. Not that Kidd really cared right now, so he just stared through the hole, examining Chamberlain sitting at a round table looking before he spoke up. "What are you doing all the way back here?" Kidd asked.

"Come in correctly and I'll tell you," Chamberlain answered shortly, pointing in the direction of the door.

Kidd sighed, finding it to be a good idea even though Chamberlain was none to happy with him right now. Being with a childhood friend seemed like a good idea right now, and since Killer was nowhere to be found Chamberlain would be the next best thing. Though Chamberlain didn't talk much, so Kidd would get no advice if he talked to him about his problem, but Killer didn't give good advice either, so it wasn't a win-lose situation. It seemed like a lose-lose one, but Kidd didn't worry about it, Chamberlain at least listened when Kidd vented. Killer, not so much. So, there was one positive thing to talking to the navigator.

Though, when Kidd opened the door, he saw that Chamberlain wasn't alone; Calamity and Bedros were there, too. The magical being was looking at him in amusement, tilting her head to one side with a small smile, whereas Bedros looked mildly shocked because Kidd just 'randomly' punched a hole in the wall. To Kidd, it wasn't a random act, and the shocked expression was like a trigger to his rage and he scowled darkly at the stone devil, making Bedros jump in his seat out of fright and then cling to Calamity for protection.

That calmed Kidd down just a bit, his scowl relaxing to a confused stare as he looked towards Chamberlain. "What's goin' on…?" Kidd questioned slowly, walking over to the table where maps and charts of the Grand Line were tossed messily around on the surface.

"Calamity asked to see the maps," Chamberlain answered then pointed to the one lying in front of the magical being. "She says she wants to go to this one."

"I want to investigate something there, Captain Eustass," Calamity cut in politely. "It's important that I see what's there. I would just go myself, but I feel that using my magic would bring something unwanted at the moment," she explained. "I hope you don't mind."

Kidd just shrugged; an island was an island. He would take them over as he went.

"But it's a Marine Base, Kidd," Chamberlain added, and Kidd noticed that his navigator flinched ever so slightly since at the last Marine Base battle Chamberlain had gotten quite a beating to the head. "But it's up to you," Chamberlain continued. "You are the captain here."

"We're going then," he ended the conversation at that. A Marine Base left scars on his crew that survived the attack, which was true. But it was something they needed to get over because they as pirates shouldn't let something like that ruin them: Marines were the ultimate enemy. Plus, this gave Kidd something to look forward to; he needed to kill and a lot of it, too.

* * *

><p>Gabriella felt like it was déjà vu. Kidd avoiding her once more, though this time around, she knew how to deal with the problem: give him space so he could work it out. Granted, she felt a little at blame here since she didn't answer him after he confessed, but it's not like she didn't try to fix her mistake. That's where the <em>Kidd's-avoiding-me-again<em> thing came in. It's not like the problem wasn't going to get fixed anyway; they pretty much lived together, so things would smooth out…eventually. Though, she hoped it would be soon; she missed having someone in bed with her. The extra warmth was always a nice thing, especially when she hated the cold.

Kidd spent most of his nights in his office and slept on the couch in their room, and then all of hell must have frozen over because Kidd actually got up _**earlier**_. She knew this because she usually woke up by late morning and Kidd was already gone when before the man couldn't even get up by three in the afternoon, twelve if it was a good day. The man must have been like a walking zombie, or he was drinking tons of coffee. She never knew because, once again, that's when the _Kidd's-avoiding-me-again_ thing came in.

She hoped by the time they docked at the next island, Kidd would be better since it was a Marine Base and that meant Kidd could kill until he felt better, but he had to wait until they stocked up first because they were running low on just about everything. It was a risky thing to restock on a Marine Base, but they had to do what needed to be done. At least the whole island wasn't a base, half of it was a simple town.

So, with time to spare and her mind worked up over things, she decided that she needed to do something, which was only one thing: shopping. Plus she needed someone to talk to; girl time with Madeline seemed to be the best thing to do.

"He said _what_ to you!" Madeline gasped, pushing back a rack of clothes so she could see through them, a look of complete shock on her face. "He actually said it!"

"Well," Gabriella hummed and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "It was sorta indirect since he didn't know he was saying it at first."

"_Ooh~!_" Madeline awed, smiling cheekily from ear to ear. "That's the best type of confession because you know it's for real."

"Yeah…"Gabriella mumbled, turning slightly away to look through more clothes on the rack. The hangers were filled with dresses on sale, which meant they could get more for their buck, so she picked on out. It was orange; not a color she had a lot of. "Do you like this one?" She asked Madeline, holding up the dress for her to see.

Madeline stuck out her tongue, making her nose scrunch like the dress was a bad smell rather than a piece of fabric, but Gabriella still put it back then went on to look for another. "_So~_, about Kidd..." Madeline continued the former conversation, stepping through the pulled back curtain of clothes so she was on the same side as Gabriella. "What did you say back to him?"

Gabriella paused with looking through the dresses again and was silent for a moment, but then answered softly. "Nothing…" then she picked out another dress; green with a daisy print. It looked like something a twelve year old would wear, or a woman with no chest, which Gabriella was neither, but she didn't want to continued the conversation about Kidd right now. So she shoved the dress in Madeline's face. "This one?"

"You're years too late with wearing that to your seventh birthday party," Madeline scoffed, snatching the hanger from Gabriella's hand and then threw it over her shoulder. "And, _**what!**_" Madeline then shouted, her brows furrowing together. "You said _nothing!_ Gabs, how could you do that to him!"

Gabriella slapped a hand to her face; there was no way to smooth this over with Madeline. She needed friendly advice, not a scolding. "He didn't give me time!" She countered harshly, scowling at the thin summoner mage. "When someone like Kidd says that to you, you have to be a shocked long enough for it to settle in, ya know? Wouldn't you be shocked if Killer said he loved you?"

"_No!_" Madeline cried happily, jumping up and down in glee. "I think I would _die!_"

"Okay, that's a bad example," Gabriella muttered, looking back to the dress and pulled out a white one. She never had a white dress before, and this one actually looked pretty. "Killer doesn't even like you."

Madeline slapped the dress's hanger out of her hands, making the article of clothing drop to the ground. "You can't wear white, you ain't a virgin," which was true, but before Gabriella could even utter a word, the thin summoner mage continued. "And, hey!" Madeline shrieked in offense, scowling down at her. "That's a rude thing to say! Killer just doesn't know he loves me yet."

"Or he just hates your guts," Gabriella added, but then tossed that conversation aside before they were adding a new thing to talk about to their already growing list of Kid and dresses. "Now can we get back to my problem? I don't know what to do…" she groaned, leaning against the racks of clothes in defeat.

"It's easy," Madeline replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Just tell him how you feel. You do feel the same way, right?"

Gabriella actually paused to think about that. It's not like she never thought about it, but it was just because it was Kidd... She already made a complete fool of herself when she said she liked him, which actually turned out okay, but saying _I-like-you_ and _I-love-you_, are too different things. She didn't know how Kidd would react to her saying that, but it seems he beat her to the punch line. "Of course I do," Gabriella finally answered. "But I can't just tell him that if he's avoiding me and all."

"Wait what..." Madeline halted, putting both hands up to slow down and back up. "He's been avoiding? Today? As in right now, today?" She questioned, and Gabriella nodded slowly in confusion, and that's when her friend went vivid with rage. "Why is he avoidin' you _today_ of all days!" Madeline burst out. "Doesn't he even know what today is?"

"No," Gabriella huffed, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't know because I didn't tell him."

"How can you _not_ tell him!" Madeline shook her head in disbelief. "Today is the most important day in the world to you and he doesn't even know."

"It's not the most important day in the world for me, Madeline…" Gabriella corrected, feeling a small bead of sweat trickle down her cheek.

"How can you say that!" Madeline continued to rage on with her ranting. "It's your _birthday_, Gabs!"

"I know, _I know_," Gabriella waved her friend off; Madeline was only looking out for her, but she shouldn't being getting mad over things when Gabriella wasn't mad. "But I have more important things to worry about than my birthday; I haven't celebrated that in years since we left home to get the gem. But anyway, Kidd is the important factor of my life right now, so I need to fix that problem first before I worry about my birthday," she looked over to Madeline with pleading eyes. "Help me?"

"Hmm," Madeline hummed, tapping a slender finger to her chin. "How 'bout you two go on a dinner date! You guys haven't been on an official date yet, right?" She questioned, and Gabriella shook her head in response. "See," Madeline continued with a smile. "That would be perfect! It's a way for you two to get alone and plus it would be like Kidd is treating you to something special on your birthday!" Then the thin summoner mage turned towards the rack of clothing, taking a dress from among the others. "How about this dress!" and she held it up to Gabriella's form. "Though it's a little small…" She added, tilting her head from side to side as she inspected it

It was a pretty dress; blood red and made out a silky material that felt like heaven between the fingers. Though, it might have been a new nice dress, there was still a few holes that Madeline failed to fill before conjuring up this ultimate plan...but before Gabriella could even comment on the whole thing Madeline was throwing her down, she turned away towards the cashier.

"_Do you have a larger size of this?_" She called out, swinging the dress over her head so that the woman working the register would see, but there was no reply, nothing at all. Madeline tilted her head in confusion. "Hmm?" She hummed, stepping closer to the front of the store until her from disappeared behind all the clothing. "_Hello~?_ Is anyone here?" Madeline continued to shout in the vacant store.

That actually made red flags rise high in her mind and Gabriella grew wary. This was by no means a small town, there should have been at least a few people filtering in and out of the place even if it wasn't a common store for customers. Even the cashier wasn't there and the store was open when they came in, so where was everyone?

And her question was answered when she saw that this was a trap. Marines came out of every door possible, rifles loaded and cocked, all pointing at her threateningly, standing by for the orders to shoot if the moment calls for fire. Her hand went to the hilt of her sword instinctively, but a jab to the back of her head made her stop in her tracks.

It was the barrel of a pistol, ready to blow out her brains. "Hands up," the gruff tone of the marine behind her order, and grudgingly, Gabriella did so.


	54. Chapter 53: Something Missing

fluffy127: Thank you for liking both His Heir as well as Bones. I'm glad that you like the certain things in my story because, in truth, I'm not sure about a lot of it because others have turned away from it because of those things. But everyone seems to like Crazy Sane, not one person as said otherwise. Maybe I just jinxed myself and then next review will be a flame on Sane. xD

AliceLaw: Kidd was OoC, but cute (I hope to all). Madeline will forever be crazy, forever. Sorry Killer. Who they are captured by will be answered this chapter.

Tigereye13: Justice is seen as a bad guy, but I'm slowly working him into a good guy; kinda like Grap, if you see where I'm going with this. I have big plans for Justice in the future. :D White dresses are only for a wedding, in the sense of purism, if you get what I mean. Madeline's logic was just Gabriella can't wear a white dress because she isn't a virgin. But it's only for wedding...do I sense foreshadowing here...only I know. :D Jonathan actually plans a bigger role then you think, so your count down it going to be quite long... And that's ride Apoo is coming! :D! Oh, the evil I shall do to Kidd with that. :D

Alpenwolf: I think you mean Gabriella, not Ameria, but I don't think Ameria wants to meet Kidd's mom either, so it all works out. :D

RestlessSoul15: Thank you. :)

motherloosegoose: The cute was probably delicious, but Sane stole it from me. :( The big meanie. But anyway, no problem about the reviewing. Reading is all the matters, right? Also, I'm glad that my stories made you feel better. :) And I hope that you will be walking again soon. :D

Son of Whitebeard: What Gabriella and Madeline do is a bit...abnormal?

akagami hime chan: You, my friend, just hit a wonderful thing called inspiration. :D And people get prizes for that which is...a mini! You get your own little mini at the end of this chapter for an idea that tickled me pink for days. Good for you. :)

Itinerys: Personally, if Kidd told me with all seriousness that he loved me I wouldn't hesitant to kiss him at all. Weird? Yes. True? Yes.

Animelover007: What Kidd's mother did was unspeakable, but I'm sure I'mm laborate on it somewhere. Maybe a mini? Hamish sleeping on Kidd's back is so cute. :3 Now image if it was Kidd's baby, curled up on his back just sleeping away. Awe~ it's so OoC I could die. :D

Emilia: That's right, now fluffiness this chapter, in the ones to come. Oh, I can't even describe what will be to come. You will just have to see now, eh? ;)

**Beware: Kidd OoC crossing. You have been warned.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 53: Something missing<p>

Jonathan sat happily at his desk, even if he was doing a butt load work that he in truth could have lived without. He was usually the type of guy that waited until the last minute to get _anything_ done, which truly pissed off a lot of the people within his division, but they could do nothing about it. His father was in charge of the whole mage recruiting unit; if someone had a bone to pick with him, then they had to pick that bone with his father and that meant nothing good would happen.

Well, for the person complaining, that it. A few men have already gotten discharged, fired, retired, or relocated because they complained about him not pulling his weight. Except for one person. That was the only thing that drove Jonathan mad, because his father actually _liked_ him.

The thought really damped his mood, making Jonathan frown deeply with a bitter scowl, and it only got worse when he burst through the doors.

"_Jonathan!_" The man he hated, yet his father approved of, roared, marching further into the room with a look of rage written clearly on his face. "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" He hissed, slamming his hands down on the Vice Admiral's desk, but one hand was curled in a tight fist as it held a piece of crumbled paper.

Jonathan's brows knotted together in equal rage towards the lower ranking marine before him; the lower ranking marine that looked so much like his younger pirate brother. It was revolting. "That's Vice Admiral Jonathan to you, _Rear Admiral Justice_." Jonathan spat venomously, putting stress on the words to make it crystal clear that there was a difference in rank here, but the look on Justice's face told him that he didn't care and only wanted his question answered. So, Jonathan took a deep breath in then exhaled sharply through his nose to calm himself down before speaking to the scum within his personal bubble. "I'm working on important documents if you must know. I need to get them done and sent to my father quickly. So, if you don't mind…" He looked back down at his paperwork again while waving a hand towards the door.

"I don't mean that," Justice snapped, the fury inside him boiling over. "I meant why Scarlet from the Kidd Pirates is here in the fort!"

Jonathan scoffed. "Because I captured her. Why else would she be here; for a cup of tea?" He mocked with a smirk, leaning back to enjoy the expression on Justice's face.

"While her captain is in port? How _stupid_ can you be?" Justice countered rudely, making the smirk on Jonathan's face crackle to a sneer. "He's going to come after her. I know this for a fact because I tried the same thing! And guess what, it _didn't_ work. Plus, this time will probably be worse because this isn't just a Marine Base, Jonathan. This is civilian town as well, at least three fourths of it is! Do you know what will happen to all those people, huh?"

The blank was left to be filled in, and Jonathan wasn't stupid, he knew what could happen, but: "Nothing will happen; I had the whole thing planned out, you know."

"Obviously not," Justice disagreed coldly, throwing that piece of crumbled paper at the Vice Admiral's face then he turned on his heel, fed up with the conversation and the entire situation as a whole, and stormed out of the room.

The door to his office was slammed violently, making Jonathan cringe, but he ignored that and just picked up the wrinkled paper on top of his paperwork. It was only Exotic Scarlet's bounty poster; the image of her and her captain holding hands for all the world to see.

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><p>Chamberlain stood beside Killer as the masked blonde leaned against the door frame that led into the dinning hall of the bar. The crew was still being a rowdy bunch, acting more like horny teens rather than pirates and the South Blue natives had to be chaperons to the wild bunch of men. They really needed to be whipped into shape, but they needed to have Kidd's go a head before heads started rolling. Of course Kidd wanted to do that from the start, but it was for petty reasons of a man slapping his summoner mage's ass on more than one occasion. This had to do with respecting the crew's name; the Kidd Pirates were an infamous crew of men that were known for merciless killing, not going around bars smacking around women while being high, drunk, or both.<p>

But, Kidd was busy with commanding a fleet of ships under his flag at the time, but now that he had gotten a hand of it, Killer and Chamberlain both thought it was time Kidd trained his crew before this spiraled out of control.

Though…for the past few weeks, Kidd seemed focused on only one thing, which they figured had to do with Gabriella since the two weren't talking. It didn't seem like they were having a fight, just a moment of separation because it wasn't like they wanted to be a part…they just sorta drifted that way. They thought that something was up, but they still didn't know what it was exactly.

"He's been staring at that pint of beer for three hours," Chamberlain commented, his eyes fixated on Kidd's form hunched over the bar so he was staring into the glass of untouched alcohol.

"I know," Killer nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's got something on his mind."

"Obviously," Chamberlain agreed. "He's been like this since the last island."

Killer glanced over at Chamberlain curiously. "How do you know that?"

"The man punched a fucking hole in my wall," Chamberlain answered with a grimace.

"Ah," was all Killer said, pushing himself away from the door frame he was leaning against for support and then turned to Chamberlain wordlessly, which made the navigator nod and then they both walked over to Kidd, sitting down on either side of him at the bar.

Kidd noticed that he was no longer alone, even the bartender had vanished after he ordered his beer, and he looked back and forth between Chamberlain and Killer, feeling a serious aura around the two. A weak smirk cracked on his lips as his hand latched mechanically onto the handle of the glass pint in front of him. "What's this? An intervention?" He joked, bringing the glass to his lips.

"Yes," both men answered bluntly.

Kidd didn't like the sound of that, his body motions freezing slightly so he never got to have a taste of his stale beer. A frown fell onto his lips and silently, he left the bar, bringing his untouched beer and all, but Chamberlain and Killer were quick on his heels.

"What's wrong, Kidd?" Chamberlain was the first to question as they walked along the vacant halls of the inn, but there was no answer from Kidd. If anything, Kidd quickened his pace, like he was trying to escape the questions, or even something else.

"Did you have a fight with Gabriella?" Killer popped the question, getting straight to the root of the problem; if the summoner mage was the problem.

The mention of her name made Kidd stop, but he didn't turn around. "_No_," he snapped and then continued walking until he got to his room, slamming the door in both Chamberlain's and Killer's face.

Killer was a little miffed, considering he was going out of his way to actually help Kidd with his girlfriend problems, and the masked blonde was about to kick down the door, but Chamberlain stopped him.

"He didn't lock it," was all the navigator said and then turned the doorknob easily and opened it while saying. "We're just trying to help," he called into the room to Kidd.

"You can help by getting the fuck out," Kidd grumbled from the bed. He was sitting at the foot of it, his elbows resting against his knees as he leaned forward, still staring down at the untouched beer in his white hands that were gripping the glass to death; anymore pressure and it would probably shatter to pieces.

"Did you and Gabriella have a fight?" Killer repeated calmly, kicking the door shut with the back of his foot.

"_No_," Kidd ground through his teeth. "There was no fight. _Now get the fuck out!_"

"There had to be something, Kidd." Chamberlain continued. "You wouldn't be acting like this if something didn't happen."

"He's right," Killer agreed with a nod. "You know you can tell us anything, right? Remember? We made that pack back at home."

"We said if we needed help on anything that we could count on each other." Chamberlain reminded him. "Granted girlfriend issues probably weren't on our minds when we were kids, but still, we are here to help you, you know?"

"So just tell us, Kidd," Killer huffed irritably. "It will be easier if you just spit it out a—"

In a fit of fury, Kidd roared like he was going into battle, shooting up from his seat and hurled the glass pint of beer at the wall, the thick smelling liquid staining the white paint instantly. Then Kidd turned towards them, his face red with rage, but they soon found out that his face was red from anything but rage. "_I said I loved her!_" He shouted, then his cheeks deepening to a darker shade as he said the words when he realized what he just said in the open so loudly and he quickly flopped down on the bed, sitting there was his face in his hands. "I—I said I loved her," he repeated through ragged breathing, his shoulders rising and falling. "And she said _nothing_ back."

Chamberlain and Killer were both in dumbstruck awe and completely speechless just looking at Kidd, each other, Kidd again, the wall covered in beer and then each other. They didn't see _that_ one coming,_ at all_, and they didn't know what in the hell to say to Kidd since they really weren't…relationship experts. They could get the basic advice, but this… They were way in over their heads right now, especially Kidd. But, both Chamberlain and Killer knew they needed to say something.

So, Killer volunteered, stepping forward, coughing to clear his throat and then said: "Just because she didn't say anything doesn't mean she doesn't feel the say way."

"Yes it does," Kidd cut in.

Killer just rolled his eyes and ignored that he was interrupted. "If you're so unsure about this," he continued, raising his volume to talk over Kidd as the pirate captain mumbled: _I am sure._ "Then just tell her again and stop being a baby about this by running away. Be a fucking man, god damnit. You're the dominant one in the relationship here, right? Then if you want an answer, press for one, don't avoid it. I bet she's been waiting to tell you her answer for weeks but _you_ have been too busy running away from something that _you_ brought up. So it's either to stay like this, _a coward_, or you man up and get the truth, _the full truth_." Killer ended his speech, feeling rather proud of himself that he actually sounded like a relationship gooroo. Then he stopped that thought, was that a good thing? He didn't get to answer that because Kidd's form was towering over him, and for a second, Killer actually thought Kidd was going to send him flying through the wall.

But instead, Kidd questioned: "_Where is she?_"

"I…" Killer was about to answer, but then he tried to recall where she was, but… "...I have no idea."

And that is when it dawned on all of them that both summoner mages had been missing for hours now.

* * *

><p>Most people taken in by the Marines would have been freaking out about it or figuring out how to get out of the mess, but not the summoner mages. Marines didn't know that diamonds were their weakness, right? So why not have fun with the situation; they would teleport or summon something deadly at any time they wanted. There was no need to waste time in their minds since the Marines weren't going to kill them like they would with mere pirates, so the two summoner mages had a pleasurable time teasing the men frisking them for any hidden weapons.<p>

They had removed the sword from Gabriella's hip, and sadly they did so carefully without touching the sword, but rather the belt it was attached to. It would have caused something…interesting to happen to the poor sap that touched it since only those of Caden's blood line could touch it. Though the weapon was the last thing the Marines had to worry about, but rather the scolding scowl on the commanding captain in charge of them.

The summoner mages could tell that the men were trying to be as professional as possible, trying to not let the sweet smiles, batting eyelashes and sugary words distract them from their job, but it wasn't helping all too much. Seeing the men squirming as they were forced to touch away at the mages' bodies yet not enjoy it properly was hilarious. The Marines were just like any other man, but having an older serious commanding officer watch over them in the room made them hide their lust, but the men were doing a terrible job at it. Hence why Madeline and Gabriella were full out flirting with them, seeing them want to crack, yet still trying to keep the pieces together so they wouldn't get a beating. It was just too fun to tease.

Though, Kidd probably wouldn't have liked the idea whatsoever, especially after what he told her not too long ago. That actually made Gabriella stop her giggling fit, her smile going to a light frown. Now she felt guilty; she was being such a bitch right now, even if she didn't have any attraction to the men in the room, but the thought of her flirting with twenty men at once when Kidd was in a rut called love because of her made her feel like a bitch. A big one too.

Madeline noticed the sudden changed and looked over at her with a worried expression, knowing exactly what was up. So they both stopped taunting the men, allowing them to finish their frisk without further trouble.

After that was done, the captain in charge spoke to a Marine off to the side, saying something softly and the Marine simply nodded then left the room. During the time that one man was gone, the others started hurrying around the room, getting into lines like they were awaiting the grand entrance of a king. But it was only a Vice Admiral, the mages could tell by the decorations of the man's jacket that he was no king, yet he acted like one.

"Welcome to my fort, ladies," The Vice Admiral greeted like a true gentleman would towards a noble, but the smirk said nothing of hospitality, only victory that he won a battle. "I hope my men weren't…too rough with you."

Neither girl said any thing. They just looked at each other, both their eyes saying if they should get the hell out of there now. As the man continued to blabber on about something, only God knew what, they had a small conversation with their eyes, because that's just something girls could do. So after some debating, they decided to stick around a bit, or at least until the man said something useful rather than junk about himself, but in the end, they wished they hadn't.

"Now, will both of you hold out your arms, please," he asked, and they did so. They weren't stupid; they knew they were going to get handcuffed. It was something that couldn't hold them down, of course...but that's when they wished they had made more of an effort to get out of there sooner.

They felt a heavy toll on their wrists when the metal locked around together tightly, weighing them down so that their arms actually fell fast. The chains chimed together lightly as they struggled with moving, but the more they move, the weaker they seemed to get. It was in a sense, like a piece of their soul being ripped away.

"Diamonds are truly lovely things," the Vice Admiral sighed deeply with a smile that sent chills down their spines, which gave Gabriella the sudden urge to just rip the damn thing off, if she had the energy to do so. Then the Vice Admiral waved his hand dismissingly to his troops, causing the captain's eyes to flash with alertness.

"Sir," the captain spoke up, stepping forward slightly. "Are you sure about this?"

"Positive," The Vice Admiral replied smugly. "I wish to be alone with Scarlet, so you can take the other girl with you," he added on and the captain nodded his head slowly, still unsure if it was a good idea, but did as he was told, grabbing Madeline by the upper arm and started to drag the thin summoner mage out of the room with the troops filing out as well. Then it was only Gabriella and the Vice Admiral. "You know," he started to say, stepping closer to her. "I was only aiming for you, but knowing that I caught two mages is truly amazing. Though, I would have been happy if it was only you..." he added on with a growing sly smirk

She really hated his smirk. There was just something that ticked her off to the point where she wanted to slap it off, but she remained calm, knowing that there was nothing she could do with diamond infested shackles on her wrists. She inwardly kicked herself for acting so foolishly in this situation; she should have taken it more serious.

"We know more about you mages they you think," the Vice Admiral commented, a hand reaching out to touch her. "You can't hide all those secrets forever," he whispered, brushing his fingertips against her cheek and when his skin touched hers, she felt a shutter of cold rush through her blood and she jerked her head away, but only for him to grab her chin, forcing her to look at him in the eyes. "You have such soft skin…" He compliment, but the husky tone in his voice made her cringe, but she held all those feelings on the inside. She didn't have the power to fight back at all, so might as well not move at all; it would probably egg him on. Then he tsked when his fingers ran along the grooves of her scars. "But _these_…just taint you…" he frowned deeply, his brows furrowing together. "I bet _he_ did this to you."

_He._ She knew who the Vice Admiral was speaking of. It was Kidd, and ironically enough, it was not Kidd that gave her the scars, but rather the Marines. But she bit back the nasty retort bubbling inside her throat, ready to bite the man's words in half. She held her tongue down and remained still, her body frozen, stiff as stone. She was currently in a position where she couldn't fight back and she didn't want to provoke, not now. But as his fingers started to travel down her body, rage was over coming her, starting to bubble deep within her and she wasn't going to be able to hold it back for much longer.

"I can't believe he would have harmed you like this..." He whispered, his hand gliding down her neck then lower to her collarbone and lower…

She couldn't take it anymore and she snapped when his hand was about to touch her chest, making her jerk away. She scowled at the look on his face, he looked hungry for her, biting his lower lip like a horny pervert. That caused her rage to fly to a whole knew level, and she did the one thing she did to _**every**_ man that tried to touch her in a way only Kidd could.

She mustered up all her strength she had left in her bones and rammed her foot up into his groin, causing the man to crumble to the ground in a fetal position, stuttering for his mommy.

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><p>Now a little mini to end (actually start since it's Sunday) the week. It's an AU (So not to confuse people with the current plot). Also, this is also in honor of Gabriella's Birthday! Though, it's more like month since I don't remember the exact day I created her. Though there was that one time in June...<p>

**Fun Gabriella Birthday Fact**:_ When creating Bones, because that story came first, I was thinking over plot ideas and the first one I had was of a noble gone pirate. Terrible idea, I know, luckily I didn't use it, but anyway, the main OC's name was going to be Gabriella and she was going to be a elf with ginger hair. So if I went with that idea, then Gabriella would have been with Law and Ameria would not exist and Kidd would never have a lover. Empty, right?_

So ahem, back to Gabriella's birthday. If anyone wants to suggest a date, then be my guest. I'm too lazy to think of one at the moment.

Now, enjoy the mini inspired by akagami hime chan~ :)

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><p>Kidd grunted as a large cardboard box was shoved forcibly into his arms as he walked out of the bathroom. He looked down at it briefly for a moment then looked back up, his eyes widening when he saw that Madeline was standing there in his bedroom. "What the fuck!" He cursed, taking a small step back into the room he just came out of, the bathroom still thick with fog and the smell of his cologne. "How the fuck did you get into my house, god damnit, Madeline!" He scowled, but he couldn't shake the extremely awkward feeling because he had just gotten out of the shower and a towel was the only thing covering him up.<p>

"Gabriella gave me a key just in case," Madeline scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her nonexistence chest. "You know, in case of an emergency, _duh_."

"Then what the fuck is the god damn emergency!" Kidd fumed, steam pouring from his ears as his cheeks flared red with rage.

"Gabriella's birthday." Madeline frankly said.

All the color vanished from Kidd's skin like water down a drain when he heard that. "Oh shit..." he mumbled. "_Oh shit!_" He cursed again, his volume rising as his mind started twisting sharply around his mistake. "Oh shit!_ That's today!_ Oh fuck..." he grumbled, slapping the heel of his palm to his forehead in disbelief. He knew he forgot something. His mind told him to do something special for today, but with work and school...he just pushed it aside. Oh god, he fucked up.

"I knew you would forget," Madeline continued, much to Kidd's dismay. "So that's why I got you this. You better hurry up and put it on. Gabriella will be back from walking Hamish soon," then she turned on the heel of her foot and started for the door.

"Hey, wait!" Kidd called out, but it was too late. Madeline was already gone and he was stuck with this box plus mystery item inside. With a sigh, he turned back into the bathroom, dropping the towel from his hips as he shut the door behind him with the back of his foot. There was the small click as the door closed and he turned back to the box, setting it on the counter to see what was inside. He opened the flaps, looked at the object then promptly shut the box again, his cheeks turning red. "You've gotta be kiddin' me..." he grumbled, opening the flaps once more to peek inside, seeing the folded up fuzzy fur of a_ panda_ costume.

There was no fucking way he could wear this, even if it was Gabriella's birthday. There had to be something else he could so, _anything_. But nothing came to mind and he glanced down at the suit once more, an unease expression crossing his face. He didn't want to feel the wrath of forgetting his girlfriend's birthday... So grudgingly he put on the suit, but when he looked at himself in the mirror when he pulled the hood over his head to finish the outfit, the thing making it look like he had ears, he turned his head roughly to the side, cheeks flaring red once more.

"This is fucked up," he grumbled. "There's no way I'm wearing this shit. I'll just bang Gabriella all day, a full twenty four hours. That should do the trick," he said to himself through the mirror and then proceeded to take the suit off. "Wait...what the fuck?_ What the fuck!_ Oh damnit...shit..."

The zipper was stuck.

He pulled and pulled on the zipper, but it wouldn't budge. Plus the fact that his hands were stuffed in gloves that looked like paws didn't help much either. And then it got worse.

"_Kidd?_" He heard Gabriella call out from beyond the bathroom. "_Why was Madeline in the house...?_"

"To be annoying!" Kidd shouted. "Why else!" He didn't worry about her coming in, he locked the door...right?

But before he could even check, the knob to the door turned easily and there was Gabriella in the doorway. They just blinked at each other, his face growing with smoldering heat as his cheeks turned a dark crimson for being caught in such a _ridiculous_ outfit and then his face turned a shade darker as Gabriella started laughing. She held her stomach with her arms, tears starting to collect at the corner of her eyes until her feet could not longer take it and she crumbled to the ground in a laughing fit.

Kidd could not stand to see her laugh at him like this and he went to the floor as well, looming over her angrily as he hissed: "_Shut up!_" If she said anything in return, then Kidd couldn't understand a word she said, which pissed him off even more and he grabbed her shoulders then began to shake her violently back and forth. "_Shut up, shut up, shut up!_" He chanted, trying to get through to her.

Then she actually did stop and just looked up at him blankly for a second, then a smile crossed her lips and laughter erupted again. "I can't take you seriously like that!" She wheezed through her laughing fit.

His brow started to twitch uncontrollably at that and then he snapped. He let go of her and then started to tear the suit from his body by force since it wasn't coming off by will. The fabric was thick, but it stood no chance against his rage and he continued to shred the outfit from his form, ignoring the hoots and hollers from Gabriella, shouting _strip, strip, strip,_ over and over again. Then when he was done, the outfit in nothing but pieces around the floor, he went back to leaning over his still laughing girlfriend, pinning her wrists above her head. "_Shut up!_" He snapped one last time.

This time Gabriella's laughing simmered down to giggling and she leaned in close to his cheek, pecking it lightly. "But it's _so_ hard to when you looked like _that_," she teased. "Did you wear that for me, hmm? That's so sweet, _Kidd~._"

"Madeline made me wear that!" He barked back, a sneer curling his lips. "She made me wear it because I forgot your birthday!"

There was silence.

"You forgot my birthday," she repeated dryly.

Oh shit. "No," he tried to dig himself out of the hole he was digging up all he did was make it worse.

"Hmm..." She hummed, wiggling her wrists free of his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. Then she closed her eyes in thought. "Hmm," she repeated. "I guess I really can't be mad..." she said slyly, a smirk crossing her lips as her hand went up to touch his cheek. "I think you have been punished enough, eh?" She teased, fingering a lock of his red hair.

Kidd sighed deeply, resting his forehead against hers. "You'll never let me live this down..."

"Nope!" She giggled, wrapping her arms round his neck to bring him into a hug.

Kidd sighed again, this was going to end bad one day, but as of now, he simply chuckled with a smile and hugged her back. "Happy Birthday, Gabriella."


	55. Chapter 54: Escape with Justice

**Attention: I have officially started my college life since I'm right now in my dorm room. :D Studies come first, but based on my schedule, I will still be able to update both Bones and His Heir, but only those two. Also, all updates will be on SUNDAY. Thank you for your time.**

RobinFluer194: Good to hear from you again! I know we can get busy with stuff and can't review, but it's reading the chapter that all that matters, to me anyways.

akagami hime chan: Yes, I really did that to Kidd, because it was Gabriella's birthday(creation) week. :D Madeline may be...crazy, but at least she looks out for her bff...in a weird way, but hey, at least she does it. And I must say that your scene of what will happen is close to what I thought of, kinda.

Tigereye13: Thank you for the edits. I feel like you're gonna give more brownie points to Justice! :3 Kinky boy's so lucky, lol. And the count down is going to be very, very, very long. To tell the truth, you shouldn't even start it now. The head of the department isn't a perv, but that gives me an idea for something. No, it will not be yaoi...I'm not good with the stuff... Killer is an epic best friend and Kidd is going to kill everyone. :D

fluffy127: You're reviewing is fine, don't worry. And I'm glad that you like the changes that Kidd, and also Law, are going through. So people don't, but that's okay. It's my story after all. :D

Guest: It was only a six day wait...but here's the next chapter. :D

Alpenwolf: Everyone wants to see Gabriella beat the balls out of Jonathan for some weird reason...

Son of Whitebeard: Jonathan is the favorite marine...to see get beaten up. :D

P.S.: There may be a few mistakes in this because it's a longer chapter...but that's good thing?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 54: Escape with Justice<p>

The area around her was barren, nothing but soot yet there was no evidence of a fire surrounding the small patch of woods that made a trail from one end of the island forested land to the other. Trees withered all the way to the ground like their bark was flimsy putty, allowing it to bend to the whim of the smallest breeze that brushed by. And plants were just a mess of crumbled leaves with shriveled up steams that no longer had petals to call their own.

It was death; pure cold hearted death.

Death in the eyes of some is a beautiful thing; the symbolism that a living thing passes on to another world that is filled with the greatest treasures that could not be found during their time on earth. But this was nothing like that thought; this was something that one only saw in the deepest parts of hell. Not even the deadliest of devils would wander there freely like it was a stroll in the park, and she should know since most of the devils in the hellion realms were her children. Even she didn't like to go to that dark place that was created eons ago.

The thick aura of wailing death hung in the air, making it thick and almost hard to breathe even though the cause of the silent chaos had long vanished weeks ago. There was just a small tint of the magic that hung in the atmosphere, just lingering around until there was nothing left to kill.

"Mother…" the voice of the stone devil from behind made her look over at him with a grimace, her lips pulled in a thin line that made the skin around her mouth turn paler than its normal shade. "Are you alright?" Bedros questioned, taking a tiny step forward with a growing frown forming on his features as well.

"This is not good at all…" Calamity answered in a whisper of a voice, her words almost being lost in the wind. "There is only one person that can cause this much damage in so little time…"

"Who is that?" Bedros asked, tilting his head with a worrisome look.

"Genie," was all Calamity said.

Bedros's tanned skin went white when he heard the name, his eyes opening wide with fear; _her_ existence may have been wiped away from the memory of the mere mortal mages that lived in RC, but the demons and devils of the hells knew who she was; a magical being to be feared because of her insane alliance to the worst of the worst devils around.

"This truly is not good if she was freed from her prison," Calamity continued, her fingers curling into a tight fist. "And I know the fool stupid enough to do that."

Bedros didn't reply, but the look on his face told her that he was curious on who it was, just so he could be wary if he ran across the person crazy enough to unleash such a potent force to reek havoc to the world. But Calamity never got to answer him for there were mild explosions in the background, making all heads turn towards the source. It was in the direction of the town; one after another there like a bomb being set off, the orange light of fire hanging around the tree tops as smoke pillared high into the dark sky of night.

"What's that…?" It was Calamity's turn to guestion, and she saw that Bedros had lost his sudden stiffness, but only slightly because his muscles were still tight just like the forced smirk on his lips.

"Why, it's Kidd of course," was the stone devil's reply. "Who else could it be."

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><p>His rage was vivid. The thought of Gabriella gone for hours threw his mind into a dimension that none wanted to even get close to the entrance because of the fear of being sucked in forcefully to their death. He needed to find her for more than just the reasons that she could be in trouble, she could just be lost, and that she was missing for hours in general. No, none of the reasons mattered to him: it was because he loved her. Though, people would have begged for their lives to differ with the way he was acting.<p>

He stormed into the dinning hall of the inn where his crew was currently still drunk and horny with his guns blazing, his anger just one button away from being set off on a mood no one wanted to see the pirate captain on, not even Killer, but not the reason of fear, but because Kidd would kill anyone in his path that didn't agree, including his crew.

He ordered them to find her, tear up the town if they needed to, but with the alcohol swarming in each man's blood, their judgment was impaired.

They just laughed at the order, at the look on their captain's face, taunting him that he was having relationship problems with his little Exotic Scarlet.

Those were all the things that Kidd didn't want to hear or be treated like, making the first ten causalities of his new crew by his very own hand. Metal rained down, making holes in the ceiling, walls and even floors as the iron beams impaled the poor souls that were closest to their devil of a captain, and also because they were the ones that said the dreaded words. Their blood stained the wood underneath every foot in the room, mopping the floor with a thin layer of crimson red that made every man jump out of their seat in shock. That sobered them all up, the horny crew of bastards they picked up only a few months ago finally being whipped into shape and they all scurried out of the inn in search of explosives to tear apart the town, just like their captain ordered, and all hoping to calm the madman down by finding his summoner mage before anyone else did.

"It's not the way I would have gotten them to do anything," Killer commented from his side, strapping his blades to his gauntlets, preparing for the upcoming fight.

Kidd shot the masked blonde a dark glare. "_Liar,_" was all he said through ragged breath, his shoulders rising and falling deeply with each inhale and exhale he took.

Killer paused for a moment, his head tilting to the side in thought and then he shrugged. "I guess you're right. I would have probably done the same."

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><p>Gabriella pulled and pulled on the chains that connected her to the walls, trying desperately to break free. Her teeth were grinding together because she just didn't have the energy to pull a locked chain from the wall and her wrists were swelling with pain because of the shackles latched to them still. Though, this wasn't the main reason for her frustration; some of it had to do with her encounter with the Vice Admiral, also because she was stuck in a tiny barred cell that was dark, dank, and overall just nasty, and, once again, it had to do with the lovely Vice Admiral treating her like his own little possession and said he was going to have her exported like cargo to Marine Headquarters so he could show dear old daddy that he caught not just one mage, but two. True, those were too very good reasons to be pissed off and annoyed to the point where Kidd's habits were rubbing off on her and she wanted to just kill everything, but the main reason was she was so infuriated had to do with who was in the next cell over.<p>

The dungeons were a simple set up, just seastone bars to hold in prisoners because apparently the thin bar could hold in not only devil fruit users, but also normal people and mages, which sadly was proving to be true since neither Madeline or Gabriella could break free and neither could their…cell mate.

She was two cells over, and the damn bitch was lucky that there was a gap and two sets of barred walls separating them or else Gabriella would have ripped the slimy patch of pink that she called hair from her head.

"I don't see what he sees in you," the one and only, Cornelia scoffed rudely, rolling her eyes as she flipped a long lock of pink hair over her shoulder, the light colored strains of hair covered in dirt from being in such a place for so long. "I'm way better than you. Like, a million times better."

Gabriella had refused to speak to the woman; all she wanted to do was break free, kill the bitch and then run off to Kidd telling him how she felt because as of now, it was _way_ past due. So, upon hearing the annoying tone once more, Gabriella tried harder to escape her prison.

"That's not working, Gabs…" Madeline commented, the thin summoner mage having already given up hope on trying to escape because the diamonds in the shackles had put a massive toll on her body, but at least she was thinking clearly still. "Did you bring Musket? Maybe he can pick the lock," she suggested, but Gabriella briefly shook her head before trying once again to yank the chain from the wall.

"Wow, you're so stupid," Cornelia just had to butt into the conversation once again, making a vein of irritation bulge on Gabriella's forehead. "You for got to bring your lock pick? That's something I would never forget if I had one. Again, I can't see how he even had the thought of liking someone like you. They have all these things about you being powerful in the paper yet you can't break out of this little prison? _So pathetic_."

Gabriella still refused to speak with the offending woman, just chanting quietly to herself _com'on, com'on, com'on_, trying so hard to break free so she could just behead the stupid little pinkie. In truth, Gabriella really didn't know why she was getting so upset about something as little as a girl lying because she was jealous of what Gabriella had and what she didn't; maybe because it had to do with Kidd. She loved him, he loved her, and having a third unwanted party saying otherwise was beyond annoying. Usually comments like what Cornelia was saying would have just slide down Gabriella's back like water of duck feathers, but this time it felt like oil sticking to her skin uncomfortably which made her want to do something. The feeling was uncomfortable and still didn't have a name; she would have named it jealousy, but why would she be jealous of Cornelia? So, she just labeled it rage, hateful rage that made her want to kill.

"Even if he does say he likes you, he doesn't," Cornelia had the gal to continue. "You know why? Because we are having a baby; I am pregnant, you know, which obviously means he loves me an—"

That's when Gabriella snapped. "_No he does not!_" She snapped, whipping her head around to scowl menacingly at the pinked haired moron that was more than just slightly delusional. "You are _not_ pregnant with his child because, for starters, you don't even look pregnant and also because you haven't seen Kidd in close to three years. Like he said back then, you should have popped that little shit out _years_ ago!"

Cornelia looked slightly shocked, and Gabriella would have thought the other woman looked confused too, but she was too pissed off to care and continued her rant before she could be interrupted.

"And no. No he does _not_ love you. He will _never_ love you, and you want to know why?" Gabriella drew out with a mocking smirk. "Because he loves me, I love him and he would _never_ want to leave me for some wannabe bitch like you."

Cornelia's eyes open wide and her jaw went slack when the words were said, lingering in the silence like a thick fog. The look on the other woman's face brought a smile of satisfaction to Gabriella's, but then her smile melted to a small frown when Cornelia's brows knotted together in rage and her body started to tremble. "Liar…" she said lowly, her tone almost a growl as she spoke, her fingers curling around the bars tightly until they turned white from lack of blood flowing to them. "You're a _liar!_" She shrieked then started to violently shake the bars, like she wanted to escape and then murder Gabriella.

Though, the summoner mage wasn't all too worried, but when Madeline came over and whispered in her ear: "I think you shouldn't provoke her anymore. She's an extremely unstable stalker." Now, when Madeline, who was indeed, an unstable stalker, said that another person was an _extremely_ unstable stalker, then it was definitely a warning sign to shut up and get away, more the reason why Gabriella pulled on her chains to get out.

Then she paused when she faintly heard the sound of the dungeon's iron door creak open slowly in the background. She groaned under the sound of Cornelia still screaming and rattling the cell bars; this was probably her escorts to the docks. And here she vaguely thought that Kidd would be her not-so-shining knight in armor, saving her from this terrible prison. But she didn't dry up her hopes of escape because she knew that there would be a small window of opportunity she could use to break free of this place. She needed to time it right, but she was confident that she could easily do it. Then she saw her wardens, well, actually it was warden since there was only one man rushing to her cell with key in hand.

She felt her jaw hit the floor; he looked just like him, which made her start to say: "You're Tra—"

"_No,_" he cut her off quickly, fumbling with getting the key into the cell's lock because of the poor lighting. "He's my younger brother," he explained shortly then there was the click of the lock coming undone and he hurried into the cell then processed to unlock her shackles.

She looked at him in dumbfounded shock considering this man was obviously a Marine, a high ranking one, too. "Why are you—?"

"Because I'm not stupid," he cut her off once again as he took the shackles off her wrists, letting them drop to the floor. Then in the little light that there was, he grabbed her hands and looked at her wrists briefly, his brows furrowing together when he saw that they were raw, small cut oozing blood from the reddened skin. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Trying to escape," was Gabriella's answer.

The man just grunted and then went on to release Madeline from her bonds, and when he turned Gabriella saw that he had her sword strapped to his hip. Instinctively, she snatched it back, finding that it was belted loosely to his form and the man didn't so much as flinch when she took it away; he must have been confident that she wouldn't attack him, and he was right. She had questions and wanted answers. "Who—?"

"Justice," the man answered quickly, grabbing both women by the shoulders once they were freed from the shackles and started to push them towards the exit. "Now that we have that cleared up, shall we get going before your Captain kills every man, woman and child on this island."

"But—" Gabriella tried to speak up again, but the man, Justice, wouldn't allow her.

"No buts," he said in a somewhat scolding way. "I tried the same thing that idiot Jonathan is trying to do right now. I told him it wouldn't work and he didn't believe me. Now the people of the island will have to pay the price since the coward already fled for 'business'. So, it's up to me to save the innocent and if that means giving Mister Eustass what he wants, then that is what I'll do."

And here Gabriella thought that all Marines were greedy bastard that just wanted to capture pirates to get a bounty or two. This guy seemed to sincerely care for the people he was sworn to protect and would do anything to save them, even give the enemy his prize back. Though that left Gabriella with an unanswered question that she had to get out. "Aren't you going to get in trouble?" She asked quickly before he could cut her off again.

"I have it all planned out," was all he said and continued to push them out of the cell quickly and down the hall to another door that Gabriella figured was going to be their escape route. But before Justice even touched the door, he stuffed a hand deep into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves; he was prepared. Using gloves to hide his fingerprints, and now that Gabriella saw that, she noticed that Justice also didn't even touch the shackles and just allowed the key to work its magic and then gravity to get it off. He really did have this all planned out, but Gabriella thought he was missing one more thing.

"_When they come I'll tell them it was you!_" The nearly forgotten Cornelia shouted, pausing in her sissy fit to scowl at the three leaving her to rot forever in the cell, or be burned to death if Kidd gets the chance to.

Justice just looked over his shoulder with an annoyed expression on his face. "A high ranking Marine officer that has friends in higher places against a pirate captain that is mentally delusional because she thinks that she has been pregnant with a feared man's baby for three years," he stated with a bored tone in his voice. "Yeah…you lost when the word _pirate_ was mentioned," he countered, ignoring any other protest from the woman and went on to shoving the two summoner mages out the door.

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><p>During their escape, Gabriella still tried to get information out of her savior, which was weird to say because he was a Marine. But Justice wouldn't say anything, not because he didn't want to, but because he was pressed for time on a lot of things apparently. The obvious one, and the most important on his list, was the innocent lives on the island that were going to feel the wrath of Kidd if he didn't hurry and get Gabriella back to him. The next was going into phase two of his plan; Justice didn't say much about it when it was mentioned though. Clearly the second phase of his plan was something he didn't want to do, but was going to have to do because it meant he wasn't going to look suspicious when the time came to see who let the mages out. Then there was a small mumble about a call from his brother, which confused the hell out of Gabriella. Though the Trafalgars were brothers, weren't they still enemies? When asked, Justice refused to answer; he even denial the fact he mentioned his brother's name.<p>

Gabriella would have argued with him, but by that time they had reached the edge of the town, or what was left of it.

"Now," Justice suddenly turned on his heel to face them. "Since I helped you escape you owe me a favor, which is easy: get Kidd off this island as fast as you can. Can you at least do that? Too many innocents have been lost and I don't want anymore. "

Gabriella simply nodded along with Madeline who was standing beside her.

Justice nodded in return. "Thank you," was all he said and then rushed back into the woods, disappearing into the darkness.

It was a strange thing to hear a Marine thank a pirate, but the odd thought had to wait. Kidd came to mind quickly and Gabriella found herself dashing into the alleyways surrounded by burning buildings to find her red headed captain. The flames were tall, flickering dangerously back and forth as she dodged them with Madeline trailing behind her closely, but no matter how well they avoided the fires they couldn't avoid the smoke. It was thick, black smog that hung around their heads and they tried ducking under the smoke, but that didn't stop it from entering their lungs, slowing them down drastically.

By the time they got out of the maze of alleys and into the wide open streets, they thought they were going to die of suffocation because of their wheezing coughing fit, but luckily there was someone they trusted only feet away. Ironically, it was Heat, the man that probably caused half the fires they went through.

He didn't notice them at first, his eyes focused on the mayhem around him, but when they stumbled over he instantly noticed their condition and held out his arms to awkwardly catch them both before they fell to the ground. Then he started yelling orders to crewmembers nearby and his voice was hazy to her ear, almost like the blur that was her weakening vision.

She was going to pass out soon, but before she did, she saw the large muscular form of Kidd coming in the distance. She couldn't made out any fine details of what he looked like at that moment, all she could see was his crimson coat fluttering in the wind, his bright red hair that looked to have darker shades in some spots and of course his mechanical arm with glaring white spots in the places the fire's light bounced off of.

He said something to Heat, but she just couldn't understand what he was saying anymore and the next thing she knew he was hoisting her up in his arms, carrying her carefully with one arm tucked under the crook of her legs and the other wrapped around her shoulders.

She felt a comfortable feeling once she was in his familiar embrace and the feeling almost made her want to go to sleep, but she remembered what Justice said. "Kidd…" she moaned quietly and he must have not heard her because there was no response, so she tugged on the fur of his coat. That got his attention and he replied, but his voice was just a blend of soft spoken words that she couldn't comprehend. "Kidd…" she repeated. "I don't want to stay here anymore…" She knew that Kidd was going to drop her off on the ship and then come back to finish what he started, but maybe if she said she didn't want to stay, he would just allow them to leave, sparing those who were still living.

Kidd responded and this time she tried to hear what he said, but her head was throbbing with pain now because the bounce in his step was anything but smooth. He must have been running back to the ship, but she never had the chance to find out because her mind shut down completely and she blacked out.

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><p>When she woke up, she felt the familiar swaying of waves and she knew she was on the ship once more. There was still a small bang of pain pounding against her forehead, but it seemed like sleep and fresh air was all she needed to feel better. That, or Doc already treated her and Madeline, and speaking of Madeline, Gabriella hoped her peer was okay as well. Maybe she would go check up on her.<p>

So, Gabriella slowly sat at, clutching her forehead to ease the pain that started to rise and just as she was about to throw away the covers, she noticed she was wearing something different. It was one of Kidd's shirts; velvet red with buttons that ran down the middle and it seemed that it was all she was wearing too. Kidd must have undressed her, which was something she was used to by now, but Kidd usually didn't dress her after. But, it's the thought that counts; she would rather sleep in only a baggy shirt then nothing at all.

The thought was pushed aside and she shook her head; she needed to check up on Madeline, but before she could even move, the door opened and Kidd stood in doorway.

His expression was emotionless, but Gabriella knew by now that his mind was racing as he walked over to the bed. He was thinking, she could tell because he was wasting time to allow himself time to put all his thoughts together and clear his mind as he turned, crossing the room and taking off his coat and laid it out on the couch. Then he came back over and sat down on the edge, pulled off his goggles and placed them on nightstand and then he turned to face the opposite wall of the room as he rested his elbows on his knees.

It looked like Madeline would have to wait a minute or two; Gabriella needed to clean the air with Kidd first. She needed to do that weeks ago. "Kidd," she said his name softly, placing a hand gently on his bare arm and he just grunted, looking straight ahead. She sighed; she couldn't blame him if he was still upset since it was a big thing after all. "Kidd…" she repeated. "I—"

And she was cut off by the door creaking open and Hamish's head peeking through. The puppy looked around and when his charcoal eyes landed on her, his ears perked up happily, his body wiggling to move the tail that was hidden from view because of the door. Then he darted into the room, happy to see her awake and he began barking like crazy, running around the room, jumping on the couch with Kidd's coat then hopping up onto the bed with them. Hamish took a moment to lick Kidd's elbow, trying to coax the pirate captain to pet him, but the puppy was ignored so Hamish went on to Gabriella, climbing onto her lap.

She smiled weakly and patted the puppy's head, holding him down so he wouldn't lick the daylights out of her face and then she turned her attention back to Kidd who still hadn't moved a muscle. "Kidd, I l—"

And she was cut off once more as another head popped in. "Gabriella…" It was the tiny voice of Daniel as he looked into the room. "Are you feeling—" He stopped when his eyes fell upon Kidd. True, the boy had stared to get over his fear of Kidd, but it was just a small tad. There was a difference in the way he acted though; Daniel could actually stay in the same room with Kidd now, but only if Gabriella was there, too.

She smiled at the boy shortly then turned back to Kidd, but when she looked over at him, the bed shifted and she saw that he was already up and heading for the door. The pirate captain gently shoved Daniel out of the way with a hand, making the boy flinch in fear, but then he was gone when the door closed.

_Shit_, was all Gabriella could think of as her eyes stayed fixated on the door. Nothing seemed to get through to her, she ignored Hamish licking her hand because he wanted her to rub his tummy nor did she pay attention to Daniel climbing up on the bed with her, asking her once again if she was feeling better. She just couldn't do anything until she told Kidd.

"Watch Hammie for me," she mumbled, shoving the puppy into the boy's arm and then she hopped out of bed, fully aware that she was only wearing a shirt that covered up what needed to be covered. She raced down the hall to catch Kidd before he went somewhere with tons of people, like the deck or galley, but luckily, he hadn't gotten too far and just turned the first corner. "_Kidd!_" She shouted, making him stop and turn around and then she jumped him. Her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms went around his neck, and the action threw him slightly off balance and he stumbled backwards slightly.

He looked at her in confusion, but then his eyes opened wide when he realized just how exposed she was when the bare skin of his abdomen touched her inner thighs and he pulled her closer. Then he opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him in his tracks.

"Sorry for being late," she whispered and cupped both his cheeks to bring him into a hungry kiss.

For only a mere second was she the dominate one until her tongue slid against his and he snapped back to reality and out of shock. His hand gripped a chuck of her hair, pulling her head down so he was in control. And she let him do this; the pain from her hair being pulled was easily tossed aside and she wrapped her arms around his neck once more, just enjoying his touch, the overall sensation feeling so much different than before. She didn't want it to end, but she still had something else to say, which made her pull away. Cupping his cheeks again, brushing her thumbs along his heated skin and she rested her forehead against his with a smile.

"I love you too, Kidd."

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><p>:D<p>

**Now a question for all who care. Who can eat more ramen: Killer or Naruto? **


	56. Chapter 55: Things are Changing

**WARNING: THIS HAS M RATED STUFF IN IT, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT, _DON'T_ READ THE _LARGE MIDDLE SECTION_, lots of adult stuff is there (though I feel I didn't do well on it...).**

Well, now you know what Kidd's reaction will be...

Alpenwolf: :D. I stunned you, didn't I? :D

AliceLaw: Justice is a real Marine, a superdooper Marine! ...but for how long..._dun, **dun, DUN**_**.** c:

Animelover07: I shall answer your review at the bottom since that's where I will answer everyone that answered the question from last week.

Emz: I'm glad that you liked the chapter and now your wait is over! ...a week later... :D

Tigereye13: Thank you for the edits. And yay, Justice gets brownie points, though he will probably loose them in Bones (spoiler?)... That is exactly how Gabriella is feeling, I definitely didn't really know that, but yes, that is how she's feeling. Jonathan as an excuse, but it's not good, trust me. Kidd's crew is now behaving, though you really didn't hear much about them flirting with her...I should have wrote more on it...oh well~. Genie will be explained soon. And about Madeline: it takes a stalker to know a stalker. :)

Trafalgar Riley: That is one long sentence you got there... But I'm glad that you liked the chapters. :D

Tennis-w-Guitars: Sorry that I didn't caps your penname, it's early in the morning as I write this and I'm terrible tired. Thank you for thinking that my writing is getting better. And also, thank you for liking Kidd's and Gabriella's relationship. It has its OoC moments (a lot of them), but it seems that people like them so far...I think?

the phantom of the arts: I LOLed at your review. xD So epic.

Son of Whitebeard: Things are getting _verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrry_ romantic. ;D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 55: Things are Changing.<p>

Captain Bevil. He was the brave man that captured the two summoner mages and also led the Marines into battle against the dreaded Kidd Pirates. No one knows how he did it, but he saved what remains of the city, unlike the two high ranking Marines that were there: Vice Admiral Jonathan and Rear Admiral Justice. People knew that the Vice Admiral had left the island before the attack even started; those who support him say it was just bad timing since the reason the Vice Admiral left was because his father called him. At least when word came to him, the Vice Admiral came back straight away; that counted for something. Though, the ones that disliked the Vice Admiral called him a coward, saying he couldn't handle the idea that his plan might fail, which it ultimately did.

Rear Admiral Justice was another story. Some didn't like him for obvious reasons because his brother was the Surgeon of Death, but most did like him because he was an honest Marine despite who his family might be. But during the whole attack, not one soul had seen him, not even his assistant was seen during the battle. For most, that worried them that something could have happened to the Rear Admiral, so Captain Bevil organized search parties to look in the woods, hopefully to find him alive rather than dead.

They searched all along the woods edge, but found nothing, so a search party decided to go further in the dense forest. They would admit it was creepy since only weeks earlier there was a strange attack on two Marines where the life was sucked right out of them; even the forest life around them was dead, too. It was unwavering, so they had their guard up, especially when they heard a female scream.

They raced to the sound, cocking their rifles along the way so that they would be ready for anything, but when they got there, they saw that they were so not ready for what they saw.

It was Abigail and Justice. He was holding her from behind, his marine coat nowhere to be found and his shirt missing as well and Abigail was in nothing but lacey undergarments with her ripped open blouse barely covering anything.

Seeing that they walked into something rather private, all the Marines turned around to respect that as the leader of the search group stuttered: "Captain Bevil wants to see you," and before Justice could even utter a word, the leader was rounding up his Marines and shoving them back to base.

This was going to be an awkward thing to explain.

* * *

><p>As soon as the words passed by her lips her back was rammed harshly into the closest wall. She yelped at the sudden pain, feeling the unnerving sensation traveling up and down her spine then back again to hit a bell smack dab in the middle of her brain, causing sparks to fly. <em>Ouch.<em> That _really_ hurt, but Kidd didn't seem to notice her groaning loudly in agony because he cut her off by smashing his lips to hers roughly. Well, he may not have seen she was clearly in pain, but at least he knew how to make her feel better.

Pain was really in one's head anyway; have something to take it off the mind and there will be no more pain: like Kidd mercilessly making out with her against a wall. His hands moved along her thighs, his fingers curving to the shape to pull her even closer than they already were; if they could get any closer. Gabriella swore that their heat was making their skin melt together into one, but then she felt a shot of cold crawling up her skin, making her shiver.

The sudden unknown chill went on for a moment, making her struggle slightly in his grasp and that made Kidd's fingers tighten around her thighs, nails biting into her skin. But there was a sharper pain on her right thigh compared to the other, and that's when her mind finally focused on the fact that Kidd's left arm was mechanical, thus the metal fingers were going to hurt _allot _more than normal fleshy ones, and they would also be colder. The unknown chill finally having a name, she was able to relax which made Kidd's strong grip go lax as well and she could once again enjoy his embrace, his tongue running along hers in that way that made her moan and shutter against his form with pleasure.

Until he pulled away.

Shamelessly, she whimpered like a lovesick puppy in his arms, leaning forward to press her lips against his once more, trying to coax him to continue what he abruptly ended. A chuckle was his response to her suggestive lips moving on his seductively, but all he did was lightly kiss her back in such a teasing way that it made Gabriella whine wordlessly when he started to pull away again.

He chuckled lightly again at her reaction, a smirk easing its way on his lips as he rested his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. He was panting heavily, sweat already building up on his brow and neck to make his pale skin look slick. Kidd always looked so sexy when out of breath and, oddly enough, it was one of her turn ons when it came to him, and only him. That made her gut twist with arousal, her mouth going dry and her fingernails started to dig into the skin of his shoulders weakly.

Already she was out of breath, only a mere few minutes and she a mushy puddle of wants and needs in his arms. Never had she been like this before; she usually had a bit of composure when Kidd did what he did best to produce pleasure, but this was so much different. That made her wonder; was this what love felt like? Real, legit love? Sure she had past relationships and the phrase '_I love you_' was tossed around carelessly; though all those relationships turned out to be plots to kill her, but that wasn't important right now because that was _very_ far in the past compared to now.

It had taken weeks for Kidd and her to come to the agreement that they liked each other and then months, border-lining a year to actually say they loved each other. So much time for emotions to build into something so that when it all came out, it was mind blowing to the point when Kidd kissed her that she actually felt different even though he did nothing different in the end.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her body started to shift, her back sliding down the wall because Kidd allowed it to. She didn't know what he was doing at first, which made her grip on his shoulders tighten so she wouldn't end up falling awkwardly to the floor, but even though Kidd's grip on her thighs were loose, there was still a firmness. He wasn't about to drop her; he was only moving her to where he wanted. He wanted her to feel the bulge forming, and she felt it, especially since there was only the fabric of his pants separating the heat.

For the first time ever, Gabriella felt herself swallowing the thick lump forming in her throat when she felt Kidd's growing erection.

"_Mmm…_" Kidd groaned, pressing his lips against her forehead and kissed the skin gently and then mumbled in a husky tone: "Say it again."

Her brows furrowed together in confusion as she stared straight ahead at his broad chest, watching it rise and fall with each and every heavy breath he took. "What…?" She questioned.

Kidd then hoisted her back high on his hips so they were looking each other in the eyes again, his forehead against hers. He planted a tiny kiss to her lips, and she would be the first to admit that she leaned in deeper so that it wouldn't end, but Kidd pulled back again and repeated: "Say it to me again."

It took her a moment to understand what he meant, but when she did, she couldn't help but giggle, brushing her lips against his in a gentle kiss as she said once again: "I love you."

When the small phrase was finished, Kidd's lips attacked her neck, making her gasp as his teeth bit harshly into her flesh and she groaned at the feeling, shuttering violently as the pleasure swarmed her body. Panting heavily, her fingers dug into the skin of his shoulders, leaving red marks on his pale flesh, almost causing blood to surface. She was used to his roughness, he was barely ever gentle with the exception of their first time since they had literally just gotten out of battle, but this time was different.

She didn't know how many times she could express that one little fact: it was different. Everything between them was going to be different now, just because of a little phrase…and she didn't know if that was going to be a bad thing or not. And Kidd probably didn't know either; he was probably just living in the moment, which was extremely heated, by the way.

Her neck started to feel sore from his constant bites, bruising her skin until she was sure if he added anymore pressure it would start oozing blood. She turned her head to the side, the skin of her cheek feeling the course wood of the ship's wall and she tried her best to relax in his embrace, not even thinking about trying to fight him off because she was just too weak to do so. And so out of breathe that she was also trying to focus all her attention on just that: breathing in and out, but it was difficult with the pain swelling at such a sensitive spot on her body.

"Kidd…" she moaned, closing her eyes tightly when his teeth started to sink even further into her skin, but he ignored her completely. "Kidd…" she repeated, raising the volume of her voice so he would hear, but she was ignored again since his mind was currently focused on his hands that were moving up her back, pushing away the shirt that revealed her bare skin. "Kidd!" She said for the third time, pulling at his hair to get his attention.

The method worked successfully since Kidd pulled away from devouring her neck to stare at her in confusion, though his eyes held a small amount of mild rage since his hair was just violently yanked.

"Don't screw me in the hall on the wall," was all she wanted to say, but then she added. "Somewhere more private, please. The crew doesn't need to get a free porno."

Kidd just shrugged his shoulders, and for a moment, Gabriella thought he was saying_, I don't care_, which in truth pissed her off, but then she felt the wall behind her give away. Her mind was disoriented with confusion of what the fuck just happened and then it hit her square in the face like a brick: it wasn't a wall she was up against, but rather a door. She only knew that since there was the distinct slam of one from behind Kidd. But then her mind went through another loop of confusion, and also mild panic, because she felt herself falling down fast and heading straight to the floor. For a brief moment, she thought that Kidd would save her from the fall, like a normal prince charming would, but then she realized something: Kidd was no prince charming and he never would be. Hence the reason why she was in bitter pain on the floor after he brutishly dropped her.

At least he had quick reflexes since the moment he heard her cry in pain, he was on his knees in front of her, leaning over her quivering form. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he mumbled against her forehead as he kissed it repeatedly, like that was the source of the pain and not her ass. "I got carried away."

"No kidding," she grumbled, slowly sitting up fully so she could rub the aching sores she just received, but then she felt Kidd place a hand to her chest, pushing her back down as he started to kiss a long her jaw.

Her back was gently shoved against the floor as Kidd kissed on her tender skin at the neck filled with large, bite-size bruises, and even though the touch was soft, she couldn't hold back a hiss. What had Kidd done to her, damnit, she was going to have a sore neck for weeks now. Though she was clearly in pain, Kidd didn't stop his trail of kisses until he reached the neckline of her shirt and then he pulled away to look her in the eyes.

He said nothing, just smirked and his hand on her chest started to slowly undo each button on the shirt, revealing her tanned caramel skin along the way. Once the shirt was open, he leaned in closer to her again, pressing a deep kiss to her lips as he pulled the single piece of clothing from her body and then tossed it aside.

His eyes roamed her bare skin, looking at everything he could see as the smirk started to grow, which caused a crimson blush to rise on her cheeks. "Beautiful…" he murmured as he placed a gentle kiss to one of her glowing red cheeks, his lips lingering there for a moment.

She tried to force a scoff from the back of her throat and roll her eyes at his comment, but all that came out was groan and her eyelids fluttered with closure as his lips found their way to hers. The tip of his tongue moved along her lower lip, asking for entrance that was easily granted so their kiss could be deepened. She moaned as she felt his tongue dance with hers, her mind turning into a blurry mess of emotions that she was forgetting everything that was happening around her expect for Kidd's lips moving against hers.

She was so out of it in fact that she didn't even notice her arms were forced to wrap around Kidd's neck as his own arms snaked around her back, his mechanical limb pinching her bare skin lightly, but that was a feeling she had gotten used to since it was something that couldn't be changed. Even the cold chill from his mechanical arm didn't affect her, if anything the cool metal was a relief to her heated flesh covered with a thin layer of sweat already.

Though, she did feel him suddenly shift, removing his normal arm from around her back and let his palm slide along her skin. After that, his hand was forgotten as her mind went back to the mind blowing kiss they were currently in, so she lost track of his fingers running along her sides then to her chest, abdomen and it was only when his finger graced over her entrance did she notice what was exactly going on.

She gasped, and rather obnoxiously, breaking away from their kiss to look at him with wide eyes. "Kidd—"

"Shh…" he cut her off quickly then pecked her cheek. "Don't say anything…"

She did as he said and said nothing, but that didn't mean her mind didn't stop going a mile a minute. Kidd never did foreplay like this. Kidd's foreplay was making out with her harshly while shoving her onto some sort of surface, strip her and then he was ready to bang her into oblivion. He didn't take things slow like this, and in truth, Gabriella had gotten used to his _getting-straight-to-the-point_ type of sex, so holding off on getting to the 'good stuff' was probably going to test her patience.

His fingers probed her, just playing with her and she couldn't help but whine, which only made Kidd chuckle seductively into her ear. He was enjoying this too much, prolonging what she wanted him to do. Then his finger went in, and abruptly, too since she gasped loudly, her nails digging into the skin of his shoulders. Kidd chuckled at her reaction and leaned in close to her ear. "This is nothing, you know that," he whispered in a musing tone.

She refused to answer him, feeling rather stubborn that he was changing things up on her like this, but she couldn't stay mad at him forever, especially when the feeling was actually…good. Surely but slowly, she started to lose her stubborn tension and relaxed into the bliss as his finger worked their magic and by then, she was lost, panting like a lovesick fool. Then one finger turned into two and then three, which caused her mind to go haywire and it wasn't long after that that she came.

She groaned loudly, but she didn't feel the same satisfaction. She was used to coming to his cock...not his fingers… It was still nice, she could admit that, but it just wasn't on the same level that she was used to and with a sigh her back went fully to the floor and closed her eyes to catch her breath. But then her eyes shot open when she felt Kidd's fingers run through her hair. She scrunched her nose in disgust as the sticky substance from his fingers transferred to her hair and she tilted her head away from his touch.

Kidd looked down at her in confusion, his brows furrowing together as he asked: "What's wrong?"

She looked at him with annoyance in her golden eyes and dryly said: "You're making a mess of me."

Kidd just smirked at that and then cupped her cheek, making her cringed away from his palm as the sticky warmth touched her skin. "It's just all you, babe," he mused with a chuckle as he kissed her.

She didn't return that kiss since she was mildly ticked off with him for purposely getting her dirty. Sure, it was technically _her_ that he spread all of her hair and skin, but still, that stuff belonged south of the border in her book. "You know I don't like it when you call me babe," she commented instead, which was a story that happened over a year ago when she first joined the crew and Kidd had given her that nickname when she most definitely hated it. Just because they were official lovers now didn't mean that she was going to suddenly accept his pet name, even if it wasn't used in spite this time around.

"Well, better get used to it," Kidd teased with a cocky smile, resting his forehead against hers and his red hair damp with sweat fell down to stick to her skin. "Because I'm gonna call you that."

"Then I won't respond to you," she huffed, turned her head to the side and she even removed her arms from lounging over his shoulder to cross them over her chest.

"I can _make_ you respond," Kidd challenged, shifting his form so his hands were on either side of her head, his elbows bent so it looked like he was going to do a pushup, but he never went up and only stayed low and in her face.

She kept a firm stare, never letting it falter once, but that smirk on his face… She would admit that made her slightly nervous on what he might do to make her respond.

"Ready, babe?" He taunted in a mocking tone as he dipped his head down to the crook of her neck, nursing the still tender wounds his teeth had made not too long ago.

She kept to her word and didn't respond to the pet name, but then her hands latched onto his shoulders as she let out a cry when Kidd suddenly plunged his throbbing member into her. She cringed, even though with the foreplay she should have been ready; it was just that sere fact that she wasn't expecting it to happen with a little warning considering she didn't even know he took off his pants. When did he do that anyway?

"Awe, babe," Kidd practically purred into her ear, his voiced drawled out and husky. "You should be used to this by now…"

She tried to muster up all the strength that she could to glare at him, but her attempt failed and she only sent him a look that spelled out bedroom eyes, which only encouraged Kidd in the end. That was both a good thing and a bad one since it meant that Kidd would probably continue to call her babe until the end of time, but it also meant that Kidd was actually getting on with the _real_ sex. Her muscles started to relax easily with each thrust, though her fingers were the only tense thing as they dug deeply into the skin of his shoulder blades.

His breath was harsh as he pressed his lips to her ear, mumbling something to her, but she couldn't even connect the dots of what he actually said to her. Or it was because she screamed his name in a moaning cry when Kidd hit her sweet spot; and he found it so quick, too. It usually took him awhile, and that is also when everything turned into a blur. The words he said to her as his tongue ran across the shell of her ear, the faster he went to get her to scream his name again and the blood starting to soak her fingertips as she created thin gashes along his back.

Then she felt the sudden friction as she tightened around his member and then finally released, and at the same time as Kidd. It was said that coming at the same time during sex between lovers was extremely romantic, but she didn't comment on the rumored fact. She was too damn tired to even try and utter a single word and Kidd didn't seem to care about the rumor, or even know about it, and he just rolled off of her with a grunt, sprawling out next to her with his eyes closed in exhaustion.

Though she was tired, she found the energy to sit up and she saw the distinct furnishings that labeled the space the bathroom. But why did she sat up, she had no idea. She just leaned back on her hands, looking at the door with a concentrated expression on her features. It felt like there was something that she forgot to do…and then it hit her: Madeline.

She was going to check up on her friend to make sure the thin summoner mage was okay after they left the island, but Kidd side tracked her from what she was formerly going to do. Not that she was complaining; she did need to tell Kidd her response that was way over due and the sex thing, well, that was bound to happen in the end. But now, Gabriella needed to keep to her own word and check up on Madeline, though when she tried to get up, she ended up falling right back down and it wasn't because her legs felt like jelly either. It was because Kidd pulled her back down, making their chests collide roughly.

She groaned at the pain, though it was mild and passed over her easily as she rested her head on his board chest.

"Where do ya think you're goin'?" Kidd slurred, wrapping his arms tightly around her back and pulled her close, nuzzling his nose into her hair.

She felt her nose scrunch because he was sticking his nose in her hair that was covered in _he-knows-what-since-he-put-it-there_, but it seemed like Kidd didn't give a shit, mostly because he _did_ put it there. "I need to check on Maddie," she answered, lifting her head up so she could see the look on his face.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance when she said that, his head falling back down to the floor with a groan. "She's fine," he scoffed. "You don't need to go anywhere."

"But I want to see with my own eyes," she countered, trying to break away from his embrace, but she was just pulled right back down.

"No," Kidd stubbornly disagreed, locking her in his grasp.

Gabriella just sighed; she knew she wasn't going to get out of this, so her head flopped down on his chest again and decided that she would try and get some sleep.

* * *

><p>She woke up to the feeling of being uncomfortably sticky and she definitely didn't liked, no matter if she was waking up on the comfortable surface that was known as Kidd's chest. Groaning groggily, she slowly sat up, trying her best to ignored that it felt like a thin layer of glue was between her chest and Kidd's, which made the separation have an unbearable feeling, and not in <em>that<em> kind of way. Once she was up, she dared not wipe away the sleep from eyes since she knew her hands were now covered in the sticky substance, what it was, she was unsure since she could barely remember what happened the other night.

Her mind started to wonder what the details of the other night, trying to find the memories, but the only question that seemed to matter to her was how in the hell did they get in the bathtub. As her brows furrowed together, her mind looking for the answer, she felt Kidd's stomach move from underneath her and she looked down to see him chuckling at her with a wide smirk.

"I can get used to waking up to this in the morning," he mused, propping his elbow up on the edge of the tub and rested his cheek in the palm of his hand.

She just scoffed at him, rolling her eyes at his comment and decided not to respond to that. "You really know how to make a mess of me," she said instead, grimacing at how tight her skin felt. What the fuck did he do to her last night?

"I knew things would get messy," Kidd shrugged, closing his eyes. "That's why we moved to the tub…" He paused, trailing off and he reopened one eyes to look at her devilishly. "For round two."

The key word hit her like a brick between the eyes. That's right, there was a round two. She remembered trying to go to sleep, but Kidd wanted to continue, clearly not done with her yet. She had protested against it, but Kidd could be persuasive, coaxing her into another round of sex, extremely kinky sex in the bathtub. What they did actually made her blush; especially when one of the crewmen came pounding on the door, shouting about what the hell was going on. Kidd bellowed at him to get lost, and in fright, the man screamed that he would never bother him again and his voice faded in the distance.

Then her train of memories was interrupted when Kidd started to laugh at her again, slowly sitting up to embrace her, wrapping his arms around her thin form. "Love it when I make you blush," he whispered, kissing her sloppily on the cheek.

"You used to hate it when I blushed," she commented, remembering that for a fact.

"Well," Kidd drawled, looking at her in amusement. "Things have changed, haven't they, babe?"

She scoffed again with a roll of her eyes, annoyed that he used the stupid pet name for her again. The look on her face seemed to only make him laugh at her more, so she just nestled her head in the crook of his neck, so not only to avoid his humor, but also to hide her small smile. Kidd was right, things had changed.

* * *

><p>Fully dressed again, Justice walked along side a still blushing Abigail through the halls of the base. Some would have thought that her cheeks were red with embarrassment for being caught in such an 'act' with her superior, but he knew better since he felt the same way: angry. The plan had worked perfectly, but it was still a plan he wished to have avoided even if it was all staged and pretty much faked, but in the end it could not. Since sex was always a touchy topic to bring up, most people wouldn't talk about it and if they did, then he could easily say that he didn't think there was going to be a battle since Jonathan told him so, thus blaming everything on the stupid Vice Admiral.<p>

So far, none had said anything, only blushed and turned away, but he was sure Captain Bevil would bring it up, but then again, Justice felt like the Captain would be more concerned over the lose of the two mages they had in the prison cells. Justice hoped that he had covered all his tracks; he was in a hurry at the time so he could have missed something…

"_What is the meaning of this!_" He heard the barking on Jonathan just around the corner of the hall. "You were supposed to transport her_ immediately_ after I left. I would have done it myself but I needed to see my father at HQ for something important," Jonathan tried to explain himself to the scowling Captain by the entrance to the dungeons. "Now I will be late thanks to this mishap." He groaned, resting his head into his open palm out of frustration, but then he noticed Justice walking up. "_And you!_" The Vice Admiral's rage was anew when he saw the lower ranking officer. "Where were you during this fight?"

"I believe I was taking some personal time off with Abigail," Justice said easily through a smirk, even though on the inside he was vomiting at the implied statement between his words.

Jonathan's face went red, whether it was out of rage or embarrassment, Justice could not tell. "And why in the hell were you taking personal time off! We were under attack!"

"I was told by you that there was no need to worry about it," Justice countered. "You did say yourself that Kidd wouldn't attack because you planned it all out, correct?"

Steam started to pour from Jonathan's ears, and Justice could clearly see now that the Vice Admiral was outraged because he was, finally, being blamed for his own stupidity and failures, but before Jonathan could explode, Captain Bevil cut in.

"We need to figure out how the mages escaped," he reminded them all, looking at them scoldingly through wrinkled eyes. "Now, let's go and ask the prisoner what she saw," and then he turned on the heel of his foot into the dungeons shadowed walls.

"Are we actually going to believe that woman?" Jonathan questioned with skepticism sharp on his tongue. "She's _crazy, _and a _pirate_ no less"

"In a time like this we need to get all the information we can get," was all Captain Bevil said in reply.

And as soon as he said that, Justice felt dread wash over him, making his skin go pale; maybe he should have done something to the madwoman before he left. This was a fatal error on his part since he should have known that Captain Bevil would do the unthinkable to get the truth, even if it meant asking a pirate for their side of the story.

But, when they got to the pirate's cell, they saw that she was in no condition to speak since she was dead.

Captain Bevil was in silent rage, opening the cell door to examine the remains and Jonathan followed behind, voicing his opinion that truly no one cared about. And Justice was about to enter the cell as well, but there was a tiny tug on his coat and he looked around to see Abigail looking at him curiously since part of the plan wasn't to kill the woman. She must have thought he did this, but he most certainly didn't.

In the course of only a few hours after he set the two mages free did Captain Cornelia committed suicide, and for what? She lost in an imaginary battle for Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd? The woman was truly insane.

"Justice," his name was called by the Captain, making him look over to see the older man crouched down beside the corpse. "I can't see a cause of death. Tell me if there is anything I'm missed."

Justice just nodded, leaving Abigail's side and started to walk over to the dead woman, but then he froze when the unexpected happened.

With a battle cry, Cornelia sprang from her spot lying on the ground, her eyes wide and completely wide with blank rage; like she only knew of death. Then the madwoman lunged for Abigail, screaming that she was going to kill his red headed assistant. Justice, on instinct, broke away from his frozen state and darted in front of his shell-shocked assistant, flicking out daggers that were hidden in his belt so he could protect her, but in truth, there was no need to.

Captain Bevil may have been old, but he still had fast reflexes in him and in a matter of nanoseconds after Cornelia got up, he grabbed her and pinned her to the ground, sitting rather un-gentleman-like on her back. "_What in the blazes!_" He cursed, looking up at Justice with confused eyes. "I thought she was dead!"

"She must have been faking it," Justice answered, shaking his arm to try and get Abigail's fingers off so that they wouldn't dig holes into his skin, but she wouldn't budge. The poor thing was terrified, and Justice actually couldn't blame her; Cornelia had dropped to a new level of insanity. "Why she was faking her own death, I have no idea, but I know why she went after Abigail..."

"And why is that?" Jonathan scoffed, placing his hands on his hips.

"Because of her red hair," Justice started, and before anyone could question why, he continued. "If she thinks there is something between her and Mister Eustass, she must be upset over the real relationship between Miss Scarlet and him. She was fine before because she never met Miss Scarlet, but now that they have met…"

"She's gone officially insane," Captain Bevil scoffed, trying to hold the thin woman down that was struggling to break free as she chanted the words _kill, kill, kill_ over and over again.

Justice nodded grimly, but then added: "Miss Scarlet must have provoked her with something…but what?" He would admit he was curious, but then again, not so much.

"That doesn't matter," Captain Bevil snapped. "She's extremely dangerous now; she needs to be terminated."

"Wait," Jonathan held up a hand, stopping the thought as he stared down at the woman, his brows furrowing in thought. He just stared at her for awhile, like he was formulating something, and then the growing smirk on his face told everyone in the room that he had a plan.

This could not be good.

* * *

><p>Comment: By the time Law and Ameria actually get to third base, Kidd and Gabriella will probably have a baby.<p>

**So, to the question. It seems like Naruto is the fan favorite here! Though, I think its more along the lines of we, as fans, can't see Killer eating like Naruto does, right? But anyway, in my personal opinion, I think that Choji could eat more. :D Now, you are probably all saying,_ wait, I thought we could only choose between Naruto and Killer_, well, I never said that, did I? I gave you two choices, yes, but you could have thought outside the box, too!**

**Now, that leads me to the next 'who can eat more' question: Who can eat more meat: Choji or Luffy?**


	57. Chapter 56: Presents

**ATTENTION READERS: _I saw that a few people voiced their concerns about the last chapter's lemon scene and I want to say something about it before the next chapter starts. I was planning on having only one lemon in this story, which already passed, so the lemon last chapter was sorta unplanned. I did it though because Kidd and Gabriella had gone through a big turning point in their relationship so I thought it would be okay. With that said:_ THERE WILL BE NO MORE FULL LEMONS, only implied ones. _Though, if people didn't like the second lemon for the reasons of concern that it's making my whole story rated M (even though two out of 57 chapters are lemons and I will be doing no more) then I can go back and edit the former chapter so that it's more implied instead of blunt. So, if you think I should or shouldn't change it then feel free to express your opinion, just in a nice way, that is all I_ _ask._**

**_P.S. I'll answer all questions regarding Luffy vs. Choji at the end. _**

Tigereye13: Justice did have it all planned out, even if he didn't want to do it. You have the basic idea of what Jonathan is going to do, but since he has poor planning skills, the plan won't work out all to well. That is for sure.

Blood Queen: Thank you liking both my stories His Heir and Bones. I never really thought of doing and KillerxOC, well actually I did, but it won't happen for awhile. But, I have plans that I might do a KillerxOC within His Heir, but still debating on it.

fluffy127: Gabriella is stuck with that name like it's super glued to her forehead. And the bathtub sex is for your vivid imagination to create. ;)

Elle-Procrastinator: I understand your concern, but my logic works weird and I'll be keeping it T instead of changing it to M. The worst that can happen is His Heir gets deleted, and if that is the case, then you are full permission to say: "I told you so, bitch," (In college, apparently calling a girl 'a bitch' is a positive thing now. Huh, go figure).

GoddessoOfNight08: I will answer your review at the end. Thank you for answering the question. :)

Son of Whitebeard: Err...what name?

AliceLaw: Glad you liked Kidd's response. ;p And Cornelia is crazy, she was crazy before, but now she is mentally insane, which means that Jonathan's plan will not work the way he wants it to.

Alpenwolf: No one is gonna like Jonnie's plan whatsoever.

Emilia: Gabriella's mind was mush after round two, that's all I'll say. And Law and Ameria really aren't practicing abstinence, they are just going through a rough patch in their relationship that will be smoothed out soon, kinda. And that is just the way I have used the term 'surely but slowly' because 'slowly but surely' doesn't flow well to me? I think it's just what the person personally thinks on the saying.

the phantom of the arts: I will answer your question at the end of the chapter. Thank you for reviewing. :)

Animelover007: Your review will be answered at the end. Thank you for sharing. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 56: Presents<p>

The breeze of the wind tossed the two summoner mages' hair gently as they stood by the railing of the ship's deck. They just talked about the basic girl things: boys, love, and of course, shoes. Madeline had felt bad that she didn't get anything for Gabriella's birthday, plus the fact that they both got kidnapped then Gabriella was sexually assaulted by a horny Marine. Gabriella tried to push the concern of her friend aside since, in truth, she didn't mind the fact mostly because she hadn't celebrated her birthday in years. It never bothered her then and it wasn't going to bother her now, even when all that shitty stuff had happened to her. Madeline just wouldn't let it go though and the thin summoner mage was determined to get Gabriella a present for her birthday whether it was late or not.

The protest between the two would have continued if it was not for Jacques strolling up to them with a sweet smile on his pleasant features. The French bomber was admittedly an attractive man, but both mages preferred a different type of man. For Gabriella it was Kidd and for Madeline it was Killer. Though, that didn't stop Jacques from flirting with the two when he could, but since Kidd and Gabriella were extremely serious in the love tank as of now, the French bomber accepted the fact that she was no longer on the market and focused all his attention on Madeline.

He did the usual thing; bowing slightly before her like a gentleman would do to the woman he was courting and then he would grab her hand and place a gentle kiss to the soft skin of her knuckles. Then he would say something in French, which was the same thing, but neither mage knew what he was saying, at all.

"I still don't know what you're saying," Madeline bluntly stated like she normally did in the mornings since Jacques started this routine.

That would make him frown slightly since he could understand English and just couldn't speak it well enough. Usually, he would just smile, shrugging his shoulders and say something else in French before walking away, but today was different and he turned to his bag and quickly pulled out a single red rose and held it out to her and in broken English he managed to say: "_For you_," in his thick accented voice.

Madeline just blinked in confusion and took the flower hesitantly from his hand. "What's this for?" She questioned, holding the rose delicately between her fingers so she could avoid the thorns.

"And where in the hells did you get a fresh looking rose on the ship?" Gabriella also questioned, looking at the flower curiously.

Whether Jacques answered Gabriella's, Madeline's, or both questions was a mystery since Jacques switched back to speaking in pure French, obviously not being able to say what he wanted in broken English.

They were still both confused, but at that moment when Jacques was explaining, Killer strode by. He was the only one that could clearly understand and communicate with the French bomber, and he knew what was being said and the words seemed to grab his attention, in a negative way. "Oh fuck, that's gross," he said dryly in disgust to the French bomber.

"What'd he say?" Both mages said in unison, looking to the masked blonde for answers.

"You don't want to know," Killer cringed, shuttering at the thought. "It's gross."

Jacques looked offended and barked back bitterly in French towards the masked blonde for saying that.

"Yeah," Killer disagreed with whatever Jacques had said to him. "It's fucking gross."

Jacques just huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, but then he turned to Madeline, an expecting look gleaming in his dark eyes.

Madeline was staring down at the rose, completely ignoring Jacques as she looked deep in thought, but then her head shot up like she thought of an idea and that idea was shoving the rose into Gabriella's hands.

Everyone looked at her in confusion, and Jacques looked a little hurt by the action.

"Why'd you give me it…?" Gabriella questioned, readjusting her hold on the rose's steam so the thorns wouldn't pinch the skin of her palms anymore.

"It's your birthday present!" Madeline stated happily as she back stepped and hooked her arm around the French bomber's. "From me and Jacques," she said and poked him in the arm like it was a little sign for him to agree with her.

Surprisingly, Jacques agreed willingly even though he was upset only moments ago, and there was even a small pink tint to his tanned cheeks, which made Killer gag in disgust.

"But…" Gabriella mumbled nervously, looking between the pair with linked arms. "I really think this was for you, Maddie…"

"Oh," Madeline awed, blinking her eyes repeatedly to try and grasp the concept of what the summoner mage meant, then her face lit up with a bright smile and she turned her head to the side in Jacques direction, which made the French bomber gulp nervously, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at Killer. "Can you get me a rose?" She questioned sweetly.

Jacques hung his head in utter defeat.

Gabriella slapped the heel of her palm to her forehead.

And Killer simply said: "You're a bitch," and walked away.

* * *

><p>Kidd was scribbling down a few last minute notes in his journal before the ship docked in port since Chamberlain had said they would be reaching the island soon. He wanted to get as much down as possible since he would admit he hadn't been writing as much in his journal in awhile and he had time, so he thought it would be best to do it now rather than later. Though…he found that allot of his entries had to do with Gabriella and he was forgetting much of the islands that they docked out. He remembered minor things like the weather, but at least he could remember the names. Also, he remembered the battles he had; those were something he could never forget and he found that there have been quite a few compared to the beginning half of the New World, probably because of his encounters with Big Mom continually.<p>

Even with his growing fleet, he was really outnumbered by the Pirate Emperor and was losing more ships than he wanted. He would admit that one or two, maybe three was okay, but when they started to rise into the thirties and more, something was wrong. It was like the Big Mom's ships were purposely looking for the ships under his flag and in truth, he couldn't be surprised by that. He had sunk a huge hand full of the Pirate Emperor's fleet already, but with the slow pace of recruiting, they would be over run soon and he was sad to admit that if this kept up then the Kidd Pirates would be no more. He needed to think of something to even the odds and that was either fighting Big Mom herself, but he was _not_ god damn suicidal, or forming an alliance, which seemed like a better option then fighting to his grave.

But who to form an alliance with… He paused in his writing and leaned into the cushions of his seat and thought about it, but it was interrupted when Killer walked into the room. "You should knock, you know," Kidd bluntly stated, turning to glare at his first mate for not even bothering to knock before he came into Kidd's personal room; what if he was _doing_ something. Granted Gabriella wasn't there at the moment, but still, knocking was common courtesy.

"I would knock if I heard something I didn't want to see," Killer countered bluntly and then moved the subject along. "We're docked, by the way."

"Ah," Kidd mumbled, slowly getting up from his seat and then turned to the couch to get his coat, but he found that Hamish was curled up on it fast asleep. Kidd groaned slightly and easily picked up the puppy, though Hamish was quickly growing out of the puppy stage and was getting bigger as the days turned into weeks. But Kidd still had no trouble picking up the squirmy puppy then place him on the ground and then Hamish ran around his feet like crazy until the puppy dashed to the door patiently with a tiny _'woof'_ as he wagged his tiny tail back and forth, waiting to go on a walk. Kidd ignored Hamish for the moment though and was getting ready to drape his red fur coat over his shoulders, but then Killer mentioned something drastic.

"You know its Gabriella's birthday."

Kidd promptly dropped his coat to the floor, the fur collecting in a puddle at his feet and then he was out the door. He didn't know it was his summoner mage's birthday, _period._ She never mentioned it before, but he could have let the words slip past him so he forgot, which _really_ wasn't good, _at all_. They just got over a 'fight' that had led her to getting kidnapped by a damn Marine, who he was going to kill when he got the chance, and Kidd didn't want to get into _another_ fight. He and Gabriella got into too many fights; they may not last long, but having them happened one after another was nerve racking. He wished they could go one month without a fight whether it was a petty argument or a big one.

So, he had to nip this problem in the butt before it exploded into something he didn't want to deal. He needed to find Gabriella quickly because there were times that she would race off the ship with Madeline to go shopping, but luckily he found her fairly easily since she was in her former room that she used to share with the thin summoner mage. Though instead of bursting through the door like he was going to do, he paused for a moment because he heard her doing something she never did unless she was in private or with Daniel: sing.

It was only a hum at first, but then the words slowly slipped out one by one. "_Listen, big boy,_" she started quietly. "_Now that you got me made, goodness, but I'm afraid, somethin's gonna happen to you._"

Kidd stepped closer, seeing that the door was slightly cracked and he looked inside and saw that Gabriella was kneeled down in front of the boy, slowly getting him dressed up in warm winter gear; Chamberlain did say that this island would have cooler weather and that it might even be snowing when they got there.

"_Listen, big boy,_" Gabriella continued the song as she helped the boy put on a pair of mittens for each of his tiny hands. "_You gotta be hooked, and how, I would die if I should lose you now,_" then she started to put a light winter jacket over the boy's small form and began to button it up while she sang: _"Button up your overcoat when the wind is free. Take good care of yourself, you belong to me._" She paused briefly in buttoning up the coat and then poked the boy in the stomach, making Daniel giggle. That made her chuckle at his reaction and then she started buttoning the coat and singing again. "_Eat an apple everyday, get to bed by three. Oh, take good care of yourself; you belong, to, me._" She ended the song choppily as she poked the boy three times in the stomach with a smile after she finished with his coat.

Daniel giggled each time as he held his stomach with his own smile spreading quickly on his lips and then he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug.

Gabriella hugged the boy back and then pulled away only to move in again to place a motherly kiss to the boy's cheek.

Kidd watched the scene and his brows furrowed together in thought. Gabriella really liked kids, and in truth, kids liked her despite the fact that she was part of a dangerous pirate crew with a large bounty on her head. He wondered if…

He stopped, shook his head of the theory and decided to push open the door and walk in.

Gabriella looked up in surprise and then she stood up quickly. "Oh, um, hey," she mumbled with a sheepish scratch of her cheek as Daniel hung close to her side, holding her hand in a mild death grip. She looked slightly embarrassed, probably because she thought Kidd had saw what she did, which he did, but it wasn't brought up since she moved the topic to something else completely. "Are you wearing…a shirt?" She questioned in amusement, leaving Daniel's side and stepped closer to him.

"Yeah?" Kidd responded back in confusion. In the last battle they had, some of his clothes had gotten a bit fringed, not that he cared, but he didn't feel like smelling of ash all the time and he knew that washing it wouldn't help get rid of the burn stains. So, he just changed up his outfit; really, it was no big deal.

"I've never seen you with a shirt on before," Gabriella continued, grabbing the sides of his shirt and tried to pull them together so it would cover his board chest, but it didn't work out all to well. "What's the point of a shirt if it doesn't cover everything?"

"Look who's talkin'," he countered glancing down to see the revealing shirt she was wearing that only covered her chest, the sides of her stomach and whatever the fur collar could hide.

Gabriella responded with playfully sticking out her tongue with a wink and said: "It's all eye candy, _babe,_" and then she released her hold on his shirt and was about to step away, but Kidd grabbed her wrists and pulled her back.

"Today…" he started to say, but then paused for a moment, wondering if it was even a good idea to bring it up and he decided that it was better to get the fight started now rather than later. "Today is your birthday…"

Gabriella looked at him in confusion, her brows knitting together as she stared at him. "Today's not my birthday…"

Kidd felt a sense of relief and his muscles relaxed.

"It already past by," was the next thing she said.

Kidd felt his muscles clench and he stared at her blankly; the explosion was coming.

"It was awhile ago, actually it was the day I got captured by the Marines, but anyway, it's not a big deal. I haven't celebrated my birthday in years," she then said with a shrug.

Kidd couldn't believe his ears; did she really just say that? He didn't know whether to feel mad or guilty about the situation: be mad that a damn fucking Marine kidnapped her on her birthday or be guilty that he let her get kidnapped by a damn fucking Marine on her birthday.

"Hey," Gabriella shouted sharply, gently slapping her hands to his cheeks with a stern glare. "Don't make that face, I know that face means you're conflicted about something and you don't need to worry 'bout it, okay?" She said suggestively and moved her hands to make him nod. Then she smiled and turned on the heel of her foot and grabbed Daniel's hand. "Com'on Dannie, let's go get Hammie and take him for a walk," and then they left the room with Kidd standing there in shock.

* * *

><p>Kidd didn't know what to think anymore. He felt like he should do something, yet Gabriella said not to worry about it and that's why he <em>did<em> worry. What if it was a test? A test to see if he wouldn't or would get her something; girls did like to pull that fucking mind shit on guys. Though, Gabriella was different…

God damnit, he didn't know what to do.

He groaned, closing his eyes and placing the heel of his palm to his forehead in frustration; this was never going to do. She was different, yet Kidd had no way of reading his summoner mage at times and he felt like it was one of those times. Maybe he should get her something, just to be safe. Yeah, that could work, but he had no idea what to give her; he never gave a girl a present before, ever. And his mother or younger sister didn't count because usually those were family gifts and he would just write his name on the card and be done with it.

He sighed and slowly opened his eyes and found his gaze locked onto his bare wrist. He hadn't worn his gold bracelets in a few months. Ever since he got his mechanical arm, he had taken them off and put them away because for some reason it didn't feel right to wear a set on one wrist and not the other.

Then it hit him, making him sit up straight in his seat and stare at the wall across from him that held books of navigation and astronomy. It was _perfect_.

He shot up from his seat and then rushed out of his room and to the deck, knowing that Gabriella was there. Most of the crew was already at the bar, but even though the crew was officially whipped into shape to the point where they would never lay a finger on her, she still didn't like being around them unless Kidd was there. And Kidd had stayed on the ship for obvious reasons; he needed to think in peace.

So he found her easily once he was on deck because she was standing with a small group of the crew that she trusted since she had known them the longest. Plus she had his old coat draped over her shoulders for warmth from the cold. She had noticed him quickly and waved to him, but before she could even get a word out, she was hoisted high onto his shoulder.

"_What the fuck, Kidd!_" She screeched loudly. "_Put me down you, brutish bastard!_" And then she began to pound his back with her fists, but then stopped and screamed: "_Fuck all you!_" To the group of men that were laughing at her.

Kidd ignored that and just continued his journey back to his room where he flung Gabriella gently onto the couch when they were there.

"_What the fuck!_" She repeated just as harshly, but Kidd stopped her rant by leaning over and cupping her cheeks to make her silent.

"I have your birthday gift," was all he said.

Her stern features relaxed quickly once he said that and she placed her hands on his. "Kidd…you know you didn't have to do that, right? My birthday's not a big deal."

"Stop belittling yourself," Kidd found himself snapping at her harshly for saying something like that. "Of course it's important," and Gabriella just looked at him blankly, and Kidd would almost say it was in shock, but he just huffed and turned to his nightstand drawer and pulled out the gold bracelets that he used to wear then he went back to the couch and sat down. "These are for you," he said quietly as he took her hands then slipped the bracelets around one wrist and then the other.

Gabriella just stared at them as her fingers played with the gold bands around her wrists and then she asked: "Why…?"

"Because you're my girlfriend, babe," Kidd answered easily, pressing a small kiss to her forehead. "That's why."

Her head snapped up and her eyes went wide when he said that, but Kidd was serious about it so he wasn't about to take it back. But then a smile widened on her face and she began to laugh loudly and Kidd then blinked at her in shock; was she laughing at his feelings? No, after everything they went through, he knew she wasn't, but still, why was she laughing?

Then she jumped him, wrapping her arms round his neck tightly, and the action actually made him topple over so his back hit the couch's seat cushions. "So that's it," she whispered with a smile and then kissed him gently on the lips. "We're official."

Kidd knew exactly what she meant since the world had been saying they were on _boyfriend-girlfriend_ terms for months, yet they never said they were, until now. "Yeah," Kidd agreed with a smirk and kissed her back.

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><p>Cookies to anyone that an name the song and where is came from. I might just give a mini to them if they get it right.<p>

**Now, the question. I think Luffy would hands down. I think Luffy could eat the world if he put his mind to it. :D**


	58. Chapter 57: This is gonna end badly

This chapter is short and probably shitty due to shitty reasons of not being about to work on it like I wanted to, so that means my editing is probably shitty, too. Just a warning.

**And for the song. Everyone was right, so everyone gets cookies, but not a mini. If you want a mini, you have to guess where I heard the song correctly. Now, you all are probably thinking '_how in the hell are we supposed to guess when we don't even know you?_' Well, minis have to be hard to get, you know? Unless you are the x00th reviewer or if you really inspire me with an idea, then minis have to be hard to get.**

Tigereye13: Thank you for the edits. I doubt the Kidd Pirates would be called that, even if they were, death would make sure the word didn't spread. This is Kidd's first relationship, like ever (in this story), so he wants it to be perfect, whether he would admit it or not. But the mind fucking thing, he probably got that from sleeping/raping so many whores.

Clumsy0132: Law will get his moment...sooner or later... And Kidd and Law will probably have a conversation about it...maybe in a mini because the idea is good (inspiration strike, maybe).

Son of Whitebeard: The relationship is getting better.

Blood Queen: Glad that you like where my stories are going.

Emilia: I was originally going to have Kidd and Gabriella each wear a set of bracelets, but when I saw Kidd's new outfit without them, I scratched the idea.

Alpenwolf: Poor, poor Jacques.

Trafalgar Riley: Dannie is a little cutie pie, and Gabriella treats him like her own child. She really wants to have her own child one day, and Kidd sees that. ;p

GoddessOfNight08: You are right.

Disclaimer. I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 57: This is gonna end badly.<p>

The morning paper was missing. It was now two in the afternoon and Killer still hadn't been able to read the morning paper. It may have been a petty thing, but reading the morning paper was like drinking coffee in the morning to him. He needed to read the god damn thing so he knew what was happening in the world. Kidd sure as hell didn't read the morning paper since the man didn't get up until twelve in the afternoon, so it was up to Killer to find out all the dirt on rivals in the New World, or even some crews starting to sail through the Paradise side of the Grand Line, if they were worthy enough that is.

So, for hours, Killer looked for the morning paper. Of course he had to do his duties of first mate first, plus the things that the captain _should_ have been doing, but was still passed out in bed with his girlfriend. After that was all done, Killer spent hours trying to find the paper which turned out to be a huge chain of _he-had-it-last_ and it was something that was beginning to annoy him, until he talked to Chamberlain.

"Matt and Scotty have it," the tall navigator said simply from the wheel of the ship. "They were shocked at the headlines and they wanted to make wagers on the reason of why it happened."

Killer stared at him for a second or two until he asked: "What's the headline?" Because the crew were too busy or just didn't care to even tell him when he asked for the paper, which is why Killer found it _vital_ to find the paper because he _needed_ to know the mystery, a.s.a.p. Or get rather bitchy because he spent hours looking for a worthless piece of shit known as the morning news.

"I'm not a spoiler," was Chamberlain's reply, and that it how Killer knew this was going to be worth the hours of looking.

"Where are they?" Was the next thing Killer asked.

"Galley," Chamberlain answered.

So, Killer was on his way to the galley and as he walked along the hall, he could hear the muffled sound of laughter and yelling of the men and when he entered the room he saw the group known as the 'South Blue Crew'. They were the ones that had been with Kidd the longest, the men recruited from the what was called the Main Island of the collection of islands bundled together in the South Blue, and one of those smaller ones off the Main Island was where Kidd, Killer and Chamberlain were from before they started their pirate careers.

"20, 000 beli says it has ta be somethin' demented," the voice of Scotty drew Killer from the vague memories of home and the masked blonde continued his swift stride over to the table where the others were seated. "There's no other explanation on why he did 'et, ya know?" Scotty continued, slapping his hand repeated on the newspaper's front page, which obscured Killer's view of seeing it clearly.

"But the Marines are after mages," Heat bluntly pointed out.

"Then maybe money was involved," Matt suggested simply, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"You think everything has to do with money," Wire frankly said, a mild scowl of annoyance written on his features.

"It comes with being the crew's treasurer," Matt answered, shrugging his shoulders again.

Then Jacques interjected in French with his own comment, but no one understood him expect for Killer, but the masked blonde was too busy trying to get a glimpse of the newspaper. Frustrated, Killer huffed and then roughly pushed Scotty aside by the head, which made the man tumble off the bench he was sitting on and to the ground. There were small snickers from those sitting at the table, which made Scotty flick them all off as he slowly got back up and he was about to confront Killer, but the masked blonde was too engrossed in the paper's headlines.

**Trafalgar Law, Surgeon of Death becomes a Shichibukai!**

Killer found it to be shocking and rather unexpecting. He didn't think that any of the Supernovas would become Government Dogs, especially Trafalgar Law and not just because he had a mage, too…well actually, that seemed like the biggest, maybe only, reason. Though why Trafalgar did it wasn't important nor did Killer really care; all he was worried about was giving Kidd the news. Ignoring all the shouts for 'stealing' the paper from Scotty, Killer rushed out of the room, gripping the papers in his fist tightly as he walked towards Kidd's office. He didn't know why he was acting this way, but the way this turned out to be such a twist in the wicked thing called life, and Killer couldn't help but feel excited about it. He knew something big was going to happen because of it. What that was, well, only time would tell the answers to his questions.

At Kidd's door he found that the news was rather blinding since he didn't knock and just walked right in, and he wished he hadn't. It was an...awkward moment.

There at Kidd's desk was not only Kidd, but also Gabriella who was perched in his lap and they were currently in a make out session. Killer stood there in the doorway for a moment, a small wave of shock coming over his form, but then it disappeared quickly and he saw that the couple hadn't even noticed him literally burst through the door. Killer knew how to be silent when he needed to; he could be a deadly assassin if he wanted to, but at this moment, he was purposely making sure his presence was known. Yet he remained unseen for the few minutes he had been standing there and Killer slowly came to the conclusion that if a real deadly assassin had come in to take someone's life, then Gabriella and Kidd would both be lying in a pool of their own blood right now.

Though, that wasn't the case; it was Killer that just walked in on them, and he summed up the sight to be the beginning of a porno that he _really_ didn't want to see. So he ended up coughing obnoxiously into a closed fist, even though he had a mask on, and then he said: "_Kidd_," rather loudly, almost borderline yelling at the fucking ginger.

The couple snapped away from their gaze and Gabriella shoved away from Kidd violently, her back ramming into the edge of the desk which made her yelp in pain. Killer just stood there, awkwardly finding the situation to be amusing now because they looked so embarrassed. Though her back was turned away from him, Killer knew that Gabriella must have been beet red since Kidd's cheeks flared crimson. And Killer knew the blush was out of embarrassment since the look of shock on his face said nothing of rage.

Even when Kidd tried to make it look like he was mad, it didn't work. "_What the hell!_" Kidd shouted. "Don't you know anything about knocking!"

"It was important," was Killer's lame excuse; he could have knocked and in truth he should have.

"Then what's so god damn important!" Kidd snapped.

"This," Killer replied, stepping forward to toss the newspaper onto the desk.

Kidd's eyes opened wide when he saw the headlines, his arm wrapped around the summoner mage moved her to the side so he could look at the front page clearly. His brows furrowed together in thought and he remained silent, and Killer couldn't even fathom what was going on in Kidd's brain right now.

But he knew what Gabriella was thinking, only because she actually spoke up. The summoner mage had readjusted herself so she was no longer straddling Kidd's lap and was now sitting normally in his lap like it was the chair itself. Then she looked at that the paper, a frown forming on her lips. "I feel bad for her."

"For who?" Killer questioned, but then he connected the dots since there was only one female on Trafalgar's crew. "For Bones?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. Her mother is the leading general for the Council's army, so the poor thing's probably between a rock and a hard place. I feel—" She was cut off as Kidd's mechanical hand crashed down on the paper, the metal fingers curling the page into nothing by ripping wrinkles.

"What is he up to?" Was Kidd's question, his brows almost furrowed in rage because he couldn't think of a logical reason for the rival captain to align with the World Government. Then Kidd shook his head. "Ah, forget it. Trafalgar meant nothing to me before and now he's just lower than scum for becoming a Government Dog. So for more important business," Kidd moved along the subject and looked up at Killer. "Why the hell haven't we left port? I'm sick of this place."

"We're waiting on Bedros and Calamity," Killer responded. "They haven't returned yet."

Then Kidd looked to Gabriella. "Where the fuck are they?"

The summoner mage shrugged. "They didn't tell me where they were going exactly, just somewhere in the woods behind the city. They have been going there for a few days now that I think about it…" she trailed off in thought, but then with a small shake of her head that tossed her ginger curls a bout, she changed the topic. "Now, I have a question," and then she grabbed up a pen, scribbling out Trafalgar from his former bounty poster picture, which made Kidd smirk in amusement, but then that fell right to a frown when Gabriella circled the polar bear in the background. "Who is the bear? Like seriously? I want to meet him more than anything in the world right now since I see this picture again. Oh, and also, where can _we_ get a walking talking bear, because I want one," then she turned to Kidd with a pleading look in her golden eyes. "_Please?_"

The look on Kidd's face made Killer laugh dryly. This could only end one way: badly.

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><p>Bedros stood out in the cold of the island, blowing warm air into his gloved hands repeatedly. Though he was wearing a think fur coat over his scarred bare chest, he was still freezing, especially since he had been coming to the same place with his mother for the past few days. He had no idea what the hell was going on, but he always got the same answer when he asked the same question.<p>

"Why're we here, Mother?" He questioned through chattering teeth, rubbing his hands repeatedly for warmth and then blew into them again for extra heat.

"_Mortalitas _told me to come here," was her reply every time.

Why the God of the Dark Arts told his mother to come to this place was unknown, but Bedros thought that it would nice if _Mortalitas _would have given his mother an exact time of when to come to the place as well. He could have been sleeping in the warmth of his wool blankets in his hammock below deck or drinking coffee to remove the chill of this frosty island.

Then the world suddenly dropped in degrees to the point where Bedros thought he would literally turn to ice. The wind which was only a small breeze lashing out at his exposed skin turned bitterly strong, whipping out to leave crimson red marks on his skin that soon turned a sickly shade of purple that looked to be instant frost bite. In panic not for himself, but his mother who was in her normal blood colored dress that exposed much of her skin made Bedros jump forward, wrapping his arms around her to protect her from the wind, knowing for a fact that it wasn't normal wind that didn't effect her magical form; it was magically.

"_Long time no see, Calamity,_" a thick accented Arabian voice spoke out smoothly, which made his mother turn stiff in his arms.

Bedros didn't know who this man was nor did he care all he knew was that this was an enemy since two mages they had run-ins with in the past were standing right behind the tanned man in white robes: Hebe and Vulcan. And with large ass diamonds no less, sorta like the blue one that was kept in a special holding room using Gabriella's and Madeline's magic at the time.

They had the enchanted gold necklace still and both summoner mages had worn it awkwardly at the same time then used their magic to open what was called a 'storage room'. It was a place, almost like a small realm that only the mage, or mages in this case, could open to store important objects that ranged from everything. It was rumored that during the Demon War, Caden had placed his wife and child in one of these storage rooms and before he died, opened the realm up to the one person he could still trust: Calamity. But that was irrelevant to the situation.

The storage realm was opened in the past by the two summoner mages to keep the diamond from affecting their magic when on the ship or near it, but also because Kidd had heard the diamond would lead to a bigger treasure that seemed to be forgotten as time went by. But those last two diamonds, red and yellow, were now in his presence and also his mother who was affected by their inner magic. As a devil, Bedros wasn't affected by diamonds since his magic wasn't summoner magic, but rather terra magic, earth magic, but more specifically, stone magic. On the other hand, Calamity was the source of all summoner magic, which was obviously not good for her since the enemy was here.

So Bedros was going to do everything to defend his mother. He turned her away from direct view of the robed man and swiftly pulled out one of his many pistols and pointed it squarely at the his opponent's forehead, cocking it quickly and ready to pull the trigger when he needed to.

The man's brow rose in curiosity. "_So this is one of your children, Calamity?_"

And surprisingly, Calamity responded with a simple: "Yes," but then continued not towards the other man, but to Bedros himself. "Let me go."

"But—" Bedros tried to reason with his mother for her own safety, but she wouldn't have it.

"_Now, Bedros,_" she ordered him sternly, and grudgingly Bedros listened to his mother and let her go. She was shaky when she left his strong embrace, the diamonds taking a major toll on her body, but then she took a few tiny steps forward towards the man until she was right in front of him.

Then she slapped him brutally, the echo bouncing off the trees.

Bedros felt his eyes open wide in shock, and he wasn't the only one in surprise since Hebe gasped at the action and Vulcan flinched, but they seemed to do it out of fear more than shock. That worried Bedros; what if this man did something to his mother.

But he did nothing and just slowly turned his head from the side to face Calamity squarely, a red palm print forming on his cheek.

"_What in the world were you thinking, Jafar?_" Calamity hissed dangerously low, rage clear in her voice. _"You are a fool for doing something so selfish and not thinking of the thousands of people that will be affected by this. She's already leaving a trail of death in her wake!_"

"_I know,_" the man Jafar answered quietly. "_I was blinded with saving my sister that I forgot the type of woman she had turned into because of Copy Cat._"

The words seemed to calm Calamity down slightly, but not enough to take away the harsh tone in her voice. "Why are you here now?" She questioned next and then added: "And why have you brought diamonds here?"

"_I mean no harm to you because of these,_" Jafar answered quickly, motioning to the diamonds with a jerk of his head to the side. "_I brought them so you can give them to the crew you travel with at the moment. I want to give them as…payment in a sense,_" he paused for a moment and then took a deep breath. "_Calamity, I want them to stop Genie._"

Bedros felt his throat grow dry. He didn't know the insane woman known as Genie had a brother. In truth though, he didn't know most of the Gods of Magic; only the ones that were part of _Mortalitas's _group, like Genie and Calamity's brother, Crazy Sane. Both of them were incredibly crazy when Bedros met them for the first time, but Genie…after what Copy Cat did to her just to piss Sane off…

Bedros knew this could only end one way: badly.


	59. Chapter 58: To the University

Tigereye13: Thanks for the edits. Genie and Copy Cat connections will come up soon. And the song wasn't from hearing it in my dorm. And for the cat story...well...I was busy and haven't gotten around to writing it yet. T.T

Alpenwolf: A Genie Hunt is on! Just not right now. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 58: At the University<p>

The thick aroma of coffee hung in the air like the crispness of morning on the wind. It was a sign that they were getting close to an Autumn Island, which was a seasonal island they hadn't stumbled upon many times. Not too warm yet not too cold; the perfect weather to be outside in, just like spring, and admittedly those were probably the two most beautiful seasons. Though, where Gabriella was from, they didn't have a fall season since she was in the southern end of her island home and near the warm bay. So it was only spring and summer all year around.

The leaves never turned shades of red, oranges and yellows until they fluttered to the ground in small piles where they turned light brown waiting for the first layers of snow. Gabriella never got to see that, in fact, she hadn't seen the leaves fall or even snow hit the ground until she first started her mission for the gem in the Grand Line. Personally, the first Winter Island sucked since she didn't have the proper gear for it, but her first Autumn Island was more of a memorable experience.

Looking away from the small porthole beside Kidd's bed, she placed her cup of coffee of the night stand before turning back to look through the glass again. She watched the incoming island slowly get closer, seeing all the blending colors of red and oranges in the far distance and a small smile tugged on the corner of her lips, but it was weak thanks to all that was going on through her head.

Calamity had decided that it was time for her to go; the only reason why she stayed for so long was to help teach her how to control her Ohdan's sword. Gabriella had gotten the gist of using the magical properties now, only after getting multiply bruises on her back from ramming into trees, rocks, the ground, sometimes Kidd, occasionally Bedros and sometimes Killer. Not a pleasurable thing, even thumping into Kidd's hard chest was a painful memory. It brought back the times that he used to continually fall on her…

That made her pause suddenly, tilting her head to the side in thought. She wondered why that happened so much in the past yet it never happened now. Maybe it was just fate trying to hurry along the process of them getting together. Who knows; it was a mystery in the end.

Then the thoughts were jerked from her mind when she felt arms wrap around her stomach and pull her back into a familiar chest. She knew who it was, but the action was so out of the blue that it made her almost jump out of her skin with a yelp. There was a deep chuckle from behind, which made her cheeks blister a light shade of pink and she twisted in the tight grip and looked at the set of amused eyes staring back. "Don't sneak up on me, Kidd," she snapped, gently slapping his arm. "You know I hate it."

"You hate a lot of things," Kidd mused quietly, leaning in to press a small kiss to her cheek. "But I can't help but ruffle your feathers, _babe._"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes and pushed him away, slipping easily out of his grasp so she flopped down on the bed and rolled onto her side. Grabbing the first pillow her hands could find, she pulled it close and cuddled her cheek to it, but the whining of her growing puppy came from behind Kidd and she looked around to see Hamish sitting there. The puppy sat there with large eyes that said: _I'm just as soft and cuddly_. With a sigh, she let go of the pillow and held out her arms and Hamish dashed into them, spinning around quickly before curling up at her chest.

The bed shifted lightly, making her glance over to see Kidd adjust himself so his chest was flush against her back and then he draped and arm over her side, his fingers scratching Hamish's tiny head. "You feeling okay?" He asked suddenly. "I know Calamity left and all."

"Yeah…" Gabriella mumbled softly. "She couldn't stay forever. She does have a school to run, plus there is the gem. It should be done regenerating soon…"

"And what happens after that," Kidd continued, moving his hand from rubbing Hamish's head to running his fingers from her ginger locks.

Gabriella was silent for a moment, her lips pressed in a thing line. "We find Copy Cat," she whispered coldly, feeling flames of rage building within her gut. After all these years of waiting and searching, she didn't think she would ever get to feel how close she was going to get to finding that devil that not only ruined her Ohdan's life, but also her whole family's life. She swore she was going to be the one that killed that monster when she heard the truth from Calamity not too long ago, and her stomach began to fill with butterflies knowing that the end was near. It was a sensation that she could taste: the bitter-sweet revenge her family had needed for years…but there was still one thing though; where to find the devil.

Last time she heard, he had escaped the bonds the great General Manolia had him under. How that had happened, Gabriella had no idea. The leading general was always so cautious and if she was able to capture Copy Cat then there was no way in hell she was going to let him free. So, the whereabouts of Copy Cat were unknown, making life just a little bit harder for her; that made her grimace darkly.

"Who is Copy Cat exactly?" Kidd questioned, breaking her from the thoughts running rampage in her head. "You've mentioned him before and Calamity said something about him, too. But there's more on him, right?"

Gabriella in truth didn't want to speak about it, not because she couldn't or can't; it just wasn't the time yet. Once the time for her to leave to find Copy Cat came then she would explain everything. So she ignored it and said instead: "I thought you were mad about the bear thing still."

"Nah," Kidd replied easily, getting the hint that she didn't want to talk about it and respected that. Then she heard the sound of gears swirling lightly and the pointing of metal joints as he moved his mechanical arm, propping it up so he could rest his hand in the iron palm. "I've learn that I don't like fighting with you."

Gabriella rolled over enough so she was looking up at him, and that made Hamish wiggled away so he had more sleeping room, and her brow rose with interest. "Really now?" She asked and he nodded wordlessly in response which made her smirk teasingly. "I feel like someone has matured a bit," she mused, nudging her elbow to his chest gently.

Kidd grunted, rolling his eyes. "Now if only you would mature a bit and get over your bear fetish."

She could have said allot of things to that retort, but instead she decided to mildly mock him by sticking out her tongue at him teasingly with a wink and giggle. Then in a flash he leaned forward with full intent to nip her tongue, which made her tongue recoil back into the safety of her mouth and she jerk away from him. "Don't bite me," she half laughed with a smirk.

"I'll bite you when I want to," he murmured huskily, pulling her close and leaned over to gently take the lobe of her ear between his teeth.

A small moan tried to escape, but she sucked it back in and said: "Speaking of fetishes, I remember you had a nasty one of biting me in the past."

"Hmm?" Kidd groaned and started to leave a trail of kisses along her jaw. "I did…didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," she whispered, grabbing his hand that was still tangled in her hair. "You would bite me everywhere…" she elaborated, her hand making a visual example as she guided his down the side of her scarred neck, along her collarbone and then to her chest where his fingers instinctively curled around her breast. "Well, almost everywhere," she then added smoothly.

Kidd just grunted and rolled his eyes, but then a small, mischievous smirked rose on his lips and he leaned forward until their noses touched. "I guess I have matured a bit then, eh?" And then he pressed his lips to hers roughly.

She would have scoffed at the comment, but all that came out were moans; Kidd may have 'matured' in some places, but in others not so much, which was actually okay with Gabriella in the end. Rougher sex was better anyway, but before it could get good, there was a knock on the door. Well, it was more of a pounding that shook the entire door actually. The sudden, sharp noise made them break away instantly, a tiny yelp coming from Hamish, a gasp from Gabriella and a howl from Kidd.

"**What the fuck do you want!**" He bellowed to the door, his brows furrowing together in rage.

"_Are you dressed?_" was the reply from Killer on the other side of the door.

"What the fuck?" Kidd called out again, his face slowly going from rage to confusion.

"Just answer the god damn question, you fucking ginger," Killer responded.

And just as quickly as his face went to confusion, it was back to rage. "Yes we are, you fucking blonde pansy!" Kidd barked.

The door knob then turned. "Good," Killer nodded as he walked in completely ignoring the look of murder on Kidd's face. "I wanted to tell you that we're docked."

"Oh," Kidd's anger simmered down to a low boil when he heard that, his job as captain taking over the horny boyfriend title for the time being. Slowly getting up from the bed, Kidd was about to make his way over to the door, but then Killer stopped him.

"I think you may want to stay on the ship though," the masked blonde bluntly said.

Kidd stopped in his tracks, eyeing his first mate curiously. "Why?"

Killer paused for a moment and then started to say: "Well…you see…"

* * *

><p>The University of Athens: the smartest place in the New World. It's where all the greatest historians, scientists and more come to study and learn from professors and colleges about their findings around the world and then share their notes and experiments with others. This was a place for the sophisticated, proper, and manner-filled people of the world, not the Kidd Pirates.<p>

It wasn't because this university was under World Government control, in fact, the university wasn't allied with the Marines at all. They did all their research on their own and funded money through donation and fun raising for experiments. And they didn't shun pirates for coming to their island either. The men and women of the island actually called pirates 'mercenaries for hire'. If they called the right price, a pirate crew would do anything, even sail to their death, which was stupid, and also the reason why the Kidd Pirates really didn't belong here.

Doc would be the first to admit that the pirates of his crew were dumber than doorknobs when it came to 'book smarts', more than half of them didn't even know how to read. It was a shame really. Only a few on the ship could even be considered 'smart'.

Doc himself, of course, was considered smart; he was the doctor of the ship and he had to know quite a lot to take care of the nasty wounds these men would get almost on a daily basis. Then there was Killer; his calmer composure compared to others on the ship let him think level headedly about certain situations. Then there was Chamberlain, the poor navigator was over worked since he had to draw all the courses and then study all the islands' histories as well, but he did a good job of it. Matt was the next, but that was only because he was the crew's treasurer, which allowed him a good mind in the mathematics field. Gabriella was another smart cookie…though Doc questioned her taste in men… But the man she chose was considered smart, though Kidd preferred to keep things simple, but not for himself, but for his violently brutish crew. _That_ is what made him smart.

There were other smart people on the crew as well: like Heat, Wire, and others that were South Blue natives, but Doc didn't feel like going through the whole list since he was busy as the moment.

He was currently restocking his medical supplies and he was lucky that he was at an institution with an abundance of different medicines, ointments and salves. He really had a hard to time deciding what to get. He looked at every bottle and container, eyeing the labels to see the ingredients, what it did for what, the causes and effects of taking it. If he liked what he saw, he would put it into the basket that Daniel was carrying for him, and if he didn't like it, he would place it back... Though he found that when he read the labels, he liked to walk, so when he put the bottle or container back, it was never in the right spot. Well, he wasn't the one doing inventory, so it wasn't his problem, but Daniel had commented on the fat that he should try and put them back in the right spots.

The boy had more or less became his assistant so that he would stay out of harms way, and to pass the time, Daniel would study his medical notes since they were easier to read compared to his textbooks. But ever since Gabriella had been kidnapped by Marines, the boy had started training with daggers, treating them as swords until he was big enough to wield an actually one. Naturally, he was coached by Killer, and the masked blonde said he was improving rapidly over the weeks.

It worried Doc slightly though, seeing the young boy who was not even ten yet carrying two daggers on his belt and when Doc had questioned Daniel on why he wanted to train, the boy had said he didn't want to lose anyone important to him again. Doc could see that Gabriella had become the boy's mother figure since the death of his real one, so when Daniel saw that the Marines took Gabriella away, it must have reminded him of his mother. He probably wanted to make sure that he could protect the ones he loved this time instead of hiding away.

It was an admirable thing, but Doc couldn't help but think the boy wouldn't make it far as a pirate with a mind like that. At least on this ship.

Though Doc pushed aside those thoughts and was about to grab another bottle of medicine from the shelf, but it was picked up quickly by another hand. Doc blinked in confusion, glancing through his glasses to see a mildly frustrated young man mumbled to himself as he inspected the bottle with furrowed brows.

Then the young man was about to leave, but when he tried to retreat, he almost ran right into Doc. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled nervously, noticing that there was another person there and looked at Doc sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Were you going to buy this?"

"I was going to look at it first," Doc replied, his voice slightly muffled because of the cigarette between his teeth.

"Oh…" the young man repeated, scrunching his nose at the smell of nicotine burning in the air, but he still smile and slowly handed him the bottle.

Doc didn't take it from his hand and simply leaned over to read the label, finding the bottle to be unworthy of his time or money. "No thanks, I don't need it," he said, waving a hand dismissingly to the young man then turned on his heel. "Come on, Daniel. I think we're done here," and he started to head to the front of the store with the boy at his heels.

"Are you sure though?" The young man continued swiftly, quickly catching up to him so they were walking side by side. "You looked like you wanted it first. I was in a bit of a hurry so I didn't use my manners; I'm sorry for that," he apologized again.

"Don't matter," Doc scoffed as he reached the cashier, taking the cigarette from his lips and flicked some ash to the floor. The cashier grimaced in disgust, and Doc just rolled his eyes as he took the basket from Daniel's hands and placed it on the counter so the cashier could do his job. He stood there for a moment, watching the screen that was adding up his bill with a small vein of irritation growing on his forehead, but it wasn't because of the amount of beli, it was because of the young man still standing there. "I _don't_ want it," he ground through his teeth, taking a wad of cash from the pocket of his medical coat.

"Wow…" the young man looked in mild awe at the larger sum of cash to appear from a man's pocket. "That's a lot of money…" and then he looked closer as Doc leaved through the bills to get the right amount. "And is that..._dirt_ on it?"

Doc just scoffed at the observation; just because it was light brown, didn't make it '_dirt_'. "It's my Captain's money," was his answer.

"Awe, so you are from a crew," the young man responded with a small smirk.

"Yeah," Doc replied emotionlessly and when the supplies were paid for he left with Daniel quick on his heels to follow.

He heard the young man said to the cashier; '_put this on my tab,'_ and then the sound of quick heels against the tile floors was heard before they exited the store. "Did your crew just dock here?" He then questioned.

Doc was now getting more than irritated with the young man's questions, and hanging around him too much period, and he snapped. "What's it to ya?"

"Well, I'm just curious," the young man answered. "I haven't left the island in a few months."

Doc felt like he knew what the young man was implying and waved him off. "Don't even think about it, kid, you wouldn't last a day."

"I beg your pardon?" The young man looked at him in confusion. "I wasn't asking to join, but I am interested in the islands that you have docked at. I have currently taken on navigation and geography classes and hearing from a sailor would be helpful for my notes."

Doc scoffed at the word _sailor_, but nonetheless, he just shrugged. "Sure, but don't say I didn't warn you."

The young man looked at him in confusion as they walked closer to port where the ship was docked. He looked around the ships, like he was guessing which one Doc and Daniel were from, and he was in for a great shock when he saw that it was the nastiest pirate ship they were walking to. "Um…" he stuttered.

But before Doc could even confirm the unspoken question, Madeline locked onto the young man and she grabbed Gabriella by the arm and screamed: _"Look Gabbie! It's Gregory!_"


	60. Chapter 59: Fetishes can be a good thing

bRoKEnhEaRTscROsSovEr: It's a good thing.

Son of Whitebeard: Thank you.

fritillary252: Thank you for liking me.

Alpenwolf: You are thinking of George...but its a simple mistake: Gregory and George are close in spelling.

Tigereye13: Thank you for the edits. AND YOU ARE THE 300th REVIEW! YAY! MINI FOR YOU.

**I would say more, but my roommate is currently pissing me off with singing (terribly), and being the nice person that I am, I won't say anything and just leave the room (which actually pisses her off more than just talking to her about it, which still pisses her off. I am frightened of her...save me...). So, sorry if there are majorly bad mistakes. I will fix them tomorrow, which will probably make this short chapter longer as well...**

**Edited: I reworked this chapter this morning since my roommate is at class and I don't start classes until 3; lucky me. I should be doing laundry...but I can do it after my classes are done this evening. :3 Though, this is still a short chapter...sigh...sorry guys.**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs ore mine.

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><p>Chapter 59: Fetishes can be a good thing.<p>

When Kidd saw Gregory again, he would admit he was shocked. Yet, it was a very good shock that he had when he saw the jungle doctor once more for one simple reason: treasure. Kidd may not be the best with remembering certain things from the past, like Token, but when it had to do with a memorable fight or piles of gold, his mind was definitely in the right place at the right time; especially since he had gotten three primary colored diamonds in storage. He knew that Gregory was the son of the crazy old professor that was camped out in the jungle months ago, and that certain crazy old man may have gotten on his nerves, but he was also the one that told him about Trolley's Diamonds, the key to the first Pirate King's Treasure.

That was most certainly something Kidd would not let slip past his subconscious in any way, shape or form, and with a bit of…_charismatic persuasion_, the pirate captain was able to get the jungle doctor to take him to his nutty father. Gregory tried to warn them that his father wouldn't just give them the information of the theorized location of where the treasure was since the man loved to go on adventures. Hence the reason why he camped out in a virus infected jungle for months to get one of these diamonds that Kidd had now. But, at the moment, Kidd's mind was clearly focused on one thing: gold, and lots of it. He hadn't gone on a good treasure hunt, where he actually got a butt load of gold, since that mountain with the dragon, which was a _very_ long time, by the way. So, they continued on, walking through the University of Athens with Gregory as their guide until they reached their destination.

It was a tall building with marble sand colored stone surrounded trees with crisp golden red leafs. The smell of autumn was fresh on the air which reminded Kidd of one thing: school. He scrunched his nose in mild disgust as he walked through the large, iron cast doors of the collage building; he always hated school every since he was forced there at the ripe age of five. School had always been a pain in the ass and he thought he would never have to step in another one…but sadly his wish did not come true.

The building was one that held the experimental labs for all fields of science. Gregory said that his father was there since he and colleagues were experimenting on their latest muse that actually had to do with the newest Pirate Warlord, Trafalgar Law. Upon hearing the name of his _former_ rival, Kidd promptly tuned on the jungle doctor with a growing sneer.

He may have said he was over the fact that Trafalgar became a Government Dog, but, in truth, he wasn't. He was dying to know what was going through that smug little head of Trafalgar's that it would end up pissing him off that he couldn't figure it out. Joining the Marines, the obvious enemy of mages, seemed suicidal since Trafalgar had a mage on his crew. That would draw attention to him and it would bring more enemies than allies. So why Trafalgar did what he did, Kidd couldn't figure it out for the life of him and before he went into a fit of rage, he stopped thinking about it; mostly because they had entered the wing of the building where Gregory's father supposedly was.

Since he was in such deep thought, Kidd wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings and he found it surprising that he didn't just walk into a wall really. Then there was a tight tug on his arm and that's when he noticed why he didn't stroll into an foreign object because of Gabriella.

She was at his side, her fingers gently on his arm as she held Daniel on her hip, the boy clinging to her neck. She was the one guiding him down the right path to make sure he didn't make a fool out of himself. Now that he thought about it…he did have moments where he thought someone was bumping into his side to get him to move…

But then he tossed that thought aside and went onto the next one, which was why Gabriella was carrying an almost-nine-year-old on her hip. That baffled him…and slightly worried him. It looked _extremely_ motherly to all, but before he could even get the idea of making her put the boy down, Gregory stopped.

"We're here," he said timidly, putting a hand to the wooden door and opened it slowly. "Just be careful…" he warned nervously as he scratched the side of his cheek. "They are a bit..._eccentric_…"

Kidd just scoffed at the words and roughly pushed passed Gregory into the room to see three small men sitting in armchairs while they slowly sipped tea from decorative china cups with saucers underneath. They _barely_ looked '_eccentric_' in Kidd's opinion since they looked like old, wrinkly skin and bones with lab coats and puffy white mustaches and beards on their faces.

"Now, Ulysses, my good man," the old man Kidd remembered from the jungle spoke up, his fingers running through the bushy mustache under his nose. "I must disagree with your theory of the reasoning of how the vocal cards are able to produce humanistic words rather than animistic grunts in the mammal."

"But James, old chap," Ulysses countered smoothly, fiddling with the corner of his long, but thin mustache with his bony fingers. "This must be an evolution process that the mammal goes through and they cannot be taught like a young child can. So, I must rebut your disagreement in my hypotheses. Right, Robert?" Ulysses looked towards the third man sitting among them.

"Well…" Robert drew out, stroking his long white beard. "I believe that how it happens naturally no longer matters for we already broke through the barrier that allows an animal to speak with only feeding them organic mixtures produced within the lab."

"Ah, true, true," Ulysses nodded his head in agreement, slightly pulling on his long mustache.

"I believe that this argument is petty then," James also agreed, wiggling his nose to make his bushy mustache dance. "Though, knowing the natural causes would be a joy to figure out…"

"True, true…" Ulysses repeated quietly, fiddling with the tip of his thin mustache once more.

And then they all hummed quietly in thought, all the old men in some form playing with their facial hair.

Kidd just stood there, a dumbfounded look etched into the cold features of his face as he watched all the old scientist place wrinkly hands to their chins and looks of concentration cross each of their faces. For a moment, Kidd was too mildly miffed to even say a word, but then he decided it was time to make his presence known. So, he stepped forward and hooked the tip of his toe under the coffee table before the old scientists and then kicked it clear across the room.

The old scientists were all snapped from their moment of silence, looking wildly around the room as research papers rained down upon them and then all heads turned to the slamming of a door hitting a wall on the other side of the room.

"_**Pa!"**_ The young teen in the doorway shrieked, but before the boy could even take a step, Gregory had crossed the room, mumbling something quietly under his breath and then proceeded to carry the teen out of the room. "_Wait! What about Pa—!_" And his voice was cut off by the door slamming shut again.

Kidd glanced at the rattling door for only a moment and then turned back to the old scientist still sitting there in bewilderment, but it wasn't because of Kidd kicking the table with their work across the room.

"Why, James, old chap…" Ulysses started to say as he fiddled with the corner of his thin mustache. "It's that the gentleman from the photograph you took at the topical Gollo Jungle Island?" He asked, pointing towards Killer with a curious finger.

"Why, indeed Ulysses, why indeed," James nodded quickly, a grin starting to form on his old face. "He is the one that helped me find the majestic blue diamond of Trolley's, you know, Robert," he added, looking towards Robert with a slightly smug grin.

Robert rolled his eyes at the comment. "Yes, yes, James. You have told us this quite a few times already; three thousand, five hundred and twenty five times to be exact."

"Now, Robert," James said sternly, his bushy brows furrowing in disappointment. "That—"

And that is when Kidd stopped them before they could bicker of petty things once again. "Look, you old bag of fuckin' bone," he barked, making the old men stared at him in shock, but sadly they didn't shut up and the look of shock on their faces weren't because of his insult.

"_Oh my word!_" James gasped, slapping a hand to his cheek. "I forgot to introduce myself properly back then, didn't I?

"What poor manners," Ulysses commented frankly.

"Poor manners indeed," Robert bluntly agreed, shaking his head with a tsk.

"Oh, hush you two," James snapped, looking at the two older gentleman with a glare, but then he looked back at Kidd. "Now, if you will pardon my colleagues, my name is James, Longstreet James and I'm a Professor of Research at this fine institute here. And this is one of my colleagues, Ulysses, Grant. S. Ulysses."

"How do you do?" Ulysses greeted with a smile.

"And this is my other college Robert, Lee E. Robert," James continued, motioning toward the other old man.

"A pleasure to meet you," Robert sent the pirates a friendly wave.

Kidd could only stare; why were old geezers so…_weird_. They didn't fear him, not one single ounce, yet Gregory was running away in terror the first chance he got. It didn't make any sense to him at all. Then he remembered why he was there in the first place, and with a tiny shake of his head, he was back on track. "_Look,_" he grounded out, grinding his teeth together. "I got the other two diamonds and I need—"

"_I say!_ You got the others diamonds!"

"_What a shock!_ I thought they were lost; how could anyone find them so quickly?"

"I concur; I believe it took us at least ten years to figure out the whereabouts the blue diamond."

"I theorize that youth was the reason for the speedy discovery of the other two diamonds."

"An _excellent_ observation!"

"Ah…youth, I remember it was like yesterday…"

"_**STOP!**_" Kidd exclaimed loudly, a vein of irritation growing on his features quickly as his cheeks flared red with rage. "Just tell me where to go to find the treasure." He sneered murderously, ready to just kill the old bats before him.

"_Well…_" James started to say sheepishly. "We would love to join you on this expedition to the unknown for knowledge, but there is a problem…"

"A large problem," Ulysses agreed.

"A mighty one indeed," Robert nodded along with his colleges.

"And what would _that_ be?" Kidd drew out through a clenched jaw, his fingers curled into tight balls that it made his arms quiver with bottle fury that Gabriella's gentle touch could defuse.

"Funds," James stated simply.

"Funds," Ulysses repeated.

"We depleted our accounts on our latest experiment," Robert elaborated smoothly. "We had become interested with the talking polar bear on Trafalgar Law's crew and we decided that we wanted to study the idea. So, long story short, we now have a walking talk brown bear, but no money."

"No money," Ulysses repeated, getting the last word in.

Kidd felt his eyes grow wide and then a devious smirk grew on his lips; seemed like his summoner mage's bear fetish actually came in handy…

* * *

><p>My sister is a Civil War buff, there for, name inspirations comes from her...a lot. :D<p> 


	61. Chapter 60: Sailing with the Annoying

Thank you to all that read/reviewed/favorited _Aloe, Sunscreen and Burns, Ouch_. I'm glad that people enjoyed it. :)

Tigereye13: I said 'oh shit' when I got your prompt, in a good way. I have never done a 'legit' boy-on-boy before, and I enjoyed writing it xD.

Alpenwolf: Yes, those names were inspired by my sister who is a Civil War buff. ;p And I see you are rereading His Heir now, too. Good luck with that.

And a nice long chapter since the others have been short in the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 60: Sailing with the Annoying<p>

Kidd was starting to regret his decision of having a walking, talking brown bear for payment. Over the weeks that the three old geezers had been sailing with his crew, he had learned one simple thing: they were god damn fucking annoying. They used educated words, which would confuse his crew because they were simple minded creatures, plus they were always getting underfoot of important work that needed to be done. Plus, they would do…_experiments_ to his crew; like classical conditioning. Half of his crew would now jump when they heard a bell, hit the duck when a crate was accidently dropped, and rushed to the galley when they heard the musical instrument called a 'triangle' ring.

Kidd didn't know what was worse: his crew acting like fools or being fooled into being conditioned by three old men that outsmarted them.

The old men were just simply annoying, which made the crew hate them. For example: poker night. Granted, poker was played every night, but the card game relaxed his crew after a long day of sailing. And they did **not** like it when their poker games were ruined, especially by old men that openly called bluffs and explained how to read poker faces. Currently, Killer was the 'richest' man on the crew because no one could read his poker face.

So now, his crew was on the verge of slaughtering the men, and Kidd and Killer would have to constantly reprimand them about the fact that these were the three, annoyingly wrinkled keys to treasure. Kidd hoped_ that_ would make up for the fact that he was only getting a stupid talking bear as payment from the old men. But…it was hard on both Kidd and Killer since Killer had to also constantly remind Kidd that he couldn't kill the three men either because those little old bastards were interrupting something important to him: his love life.

Kidd's love life was like poker night to his crew: don't screw with it or you will get screwed.

"Com'on, babe…" Kidd whispered in her ear, holding her tighter to his chest. "Just once, it will only take two minutes, three tops."

"No," Gabriella bluntly answered, ignoring the tight squeeze of his arms on her bare stomach. "I need to do laundry since I have no shirts, hence the reason why I'm only wearing a bra with shorts."

"And you look very sexy in just that…" Kidd mused with a smirk, gently placing a kiss to the exposed skin of her shoulder, and she just scoffed in response as she continued folding the laundry into a basket on the dryer. "So, what'd ya say?" Kidd went on with the former subject, his voice slightly muffled as his took her bra strap between his teeth.

She scoffed again, swatting him away for the action and then went back to work. "Why are you so obsessed with it?"

"Who wouldn't be?" Kidd countered, resting his chin against her shoulder. "I just so happen to be the one person that really, _really_ wants you to do it for me."

She then sighed in annoyance. "Fine," she grumbled, tossing aside the shirt she was folding into the basket. "But you're not gonna like it."

"Of course I will," Kidd whispered smoothly in a husky breath, smirk against the skin of her shoulder because she was going to do the thing he always wanted her to do for him, and only him.

Sing.

But he felt like she was right when she said he would regret…

"_I remember when we broke up the first time_," was how she started the song which made Kidd's smug smirk to into a panicked frown. "_Saying, 'this is it, I've had enough,' 'cause like we hadn't seen each other in a month when you said you needed space._ What?" she then said normally, holding her hands out to the side like she was a waitress holding plates and then she shrugged before singing again. "_Then you come around again and say 'baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me,' remember how that lasted for day? I say, 'I hate you,' we break up, you call me, 'I love you'. Oooh~," _she sang as she shook her hips, grinding against him, but Kidd felt no arousal at the words she was saying. "_We called it off again night, but, oooh~, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you, we are never ever, ever getting back together—_"

"**Stop!**" Kidd snapped, slapping a hand over her mouth to make her shut her up before she could even continue that dreaded song no matter how catchy it was.

"Well," Gabriella huffed, pushing his arm away so the hand over her mouth would move as well. "You were the one that wanted me to sing and I sang an _amazing_ song for you. Taylor Swift is a musical genius."

"I wanted a _good_ song," Kidd corrected. "I want a song that doesn't involve breaking up because it's like your secretly implying that you want us to break up."

"Yet, I don't," Gabriella countered smoothly, tilting her head back so she was looking up at him directly.

"True, but still…" Kidd mumbled with a frown. "You sing for the kid all the time and you don't sing anything nasty or mean to him. Why can't you sing for me one time instead of me eavesdropping because you won't sing to me face to face? You act like I'll laugh in your face or something when you know I like your voice considering I told you that many times before," he explained, looking away feeling slightly embarrassed for saying it, only because of the look on her face. "So, just sing for me, and only for me, just once."

She just stared up at him with large eyes like she didn't know that something so little affected him so much, and it was the reason why he was so embarrassed to say that. He shouldn't have been upset, or even jealous, at something so little as a song not sung to him. Yet, he was, and he just wanted one moment where she would sing something that meant _something_, not a shitty break up song.

Then she sighed, closing her eyes lightly as she hummed softly in thought before looking up at him again. "Okay. A real song this time," and then she looked back down at her feet, maybe out of embarrassment, Kidd didn't know, but then she started to sing. "_These streets turn me inside out. Everything shines, but leaves me empty still, and I'll burn this lonely house down if you run with me, if you run with me._" The song was slow and soft when she stared, but she gradually got louder has she continued. "_I'll stay with you, the walls will fall before we do. Take my hand now, we'll run forever. I can feel the storm inside you. I'll stay with you. Fooled by my own desires, I twist my fate just to feel you, but you, turn me toward the light, and you're one with me. Will you run with me? __I'll stay with you, the walls will fall before we do. Take my hand now, we'll run forever. I can feel the storm inside you. I'll stay with you—_"

As she sang, Kidd felt something build in his gut and he whipped her around, stopping her midway through the song and held her close to his form. He felt the warmth of her bare skin, the only fabric covering her body was a pair of small shorts and a bra. She was pretty much half naked and Kidd was turned on by song, which made him feel like being a little..._risky_. His hand slowly moved up the length of her back until it reached the clasp of her bra and he held it firmly between his fingers. There was no protest from his summoner mage, her arms slipping under his so her hands held onto his shoulder blades, and he continued with unclipping the clasps then threw the bra to the side completely.

"_I say, Robert? Did you hear that voice just now? It was like a sweet tone of a nightingale."_

Gabriella's face turned a deep shade of crimson in only a matter of seconds when she heard the voice just on the other side of the wall and she planted her face to his chest, covering her overly exposed form from the three old men that just waltzed into the laundry room unannounced.

"_Fuck,_" Kidd hissed, wrapping his arms around her tightly to shield her from view and looked over his shoulder to glare at the wrinkled old geezers.

"Was that you singing, my dear lady?" Ulysses questioned, blissfully unaware of what he just walked into as he continued looking at Gabriella with a cheeky smile. "I must say I haven't heard such a singing voice in quite a number of years.

"And why did you stop?" James asked, looking rather confused on why she was hiding. "Are you shy about your singing voice? Well, I can assure you that you are excellent and you should continue. We would love to hear you sing once more."

Gabriella remained silent to the men that were currently waiting for her to sing again, and those old men also seemed so focused on her that they didn't notice the look of pure death craved into Kidd's dark features.

"I think she doesn't want to," Robert then bluntly burst out.

"I believe so," Ulysses agreed with a frown.

"What a shame," James said, shaking his head in disappointment, but then he turned on the heel of his foot towards the doorway. "Let's go, gentlemen," he called them as he waved a hand over his shoulder to the other men to follow him out.

And then it was only Kidd and Gabriella.

This would have been the moment where they should have continued, but the mood was killed. Stabbed repeatedly with three overly annoying butcher knifes. That reason made Gabriella turn around quickly and grab her bra and also a shirt from the basket of folded clothes so she could cover herself in a more modesty fashion.

"Well…" she drew out in a tiny cough. "I think I should get back to doing the laundry…" and then she shooed him away from her personal space.

Kidd only took a small step back though, refusing to leave the room like he was getting the hint from her pushing him away with a hand. He stayed put, his brows furrowing together with rage because he knew this wasn't going to be the last time an accident like this would happen.

And he was right.

* * *

><p>It was pouring outside; the sky a constant dark grey that put everyone in a sour mood, except for the three old men. They were too perky for such a rainy day which put everyone's mood in a worst state then if it was just a normal rainy day, especially Kidd. He was locked up in his office by choice so he wouldn't end up murdering someone since he almost did…twice, and the count would have went up to three when he saw the door open, but he quickly stopped himself. It was only Gabriella.<p>

She walked in almost sheepishly, wearing a grey trench coat that one usually wore in the rain, but that is something that confused Kidd; she _hated_ getting wet and if she had the choice of not going out in the rain then she wouldn't. So why was she wearing a raincoat?

"Whatcha doin'?" she whispered as she walked over and stood beside him at the desk, leaning over to get a peek at what he was writing.

"Somethin' for Chamberlain; the usual stuff," he mumbled, returning back to his work, his mind now disinterested with her choice of clothing.

"Ah…" she hummed, her image disappearing from the corner of his eyes as she moved behind his seat. "I see."

He just grunted quietly at her response and then resumed working on the notes once again; though he figured it would be easier just to talk to Chamberlain than doing a note-taking-message system. The made Kidd pause momentarily; why didn't he and Chamberlain just talk it out? Oh right, they used to by once they had a small…argument where they got lost while still in the South Blue because Kidd said one thing and Chamberlain said another. In the end, it turned out to be a small misunderstanding, but after that, the navigator decided that they would put all their thoughts on direction on paper so there was proof of which way to go.

Kidd, personally, thought it was stupid, but he just did what the navigator wanted since it only took an hour or two out of his day, maybe less. So it wasn't a big—

_Screech_.

Kidd's eyes opened wide when he felt his chair move backwards a foot, the sound of wood scrapping on wood echoed in his ears, but when he looked down, he saw a giant ink streak on his wooden desk. "Shit…" he hissed, and this desk was new, too…since his other had been thrown across the room to pieces.

"Oops," it was the voice of Gabriella from behind. "Didn't mean to do that…I just wanted to make room…"

"Room for what?" Kidd snapped, looking over to see Gabriella walk around the other side of the chair.

"So I can do this," she answered with a weak smirk, climbing up on his lap and straddling his hips.

Kidd felt his brows knot together in mild rage. "You didn't need to pull the fuckin' chair out for that, god damnit. You ruined my god damn new desk!"

"Well," Gabriella clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I needed room," she repeated.

"For what!" Kidd snapped again, but his voice rising in volume with his fury.

"This…" Gabriella murmured, grabbing his hands and then guided them with her own to undo all the large buttons of her raincoat and then the small belt tied around her waist. Then she opened the coat up, still using his hands so her body was exposed clearly to his eyes.

And did his eyes open wide when he saw what she was hiding under that bulky raincoat. Kidd truly didn't have words for what he saw…well maybe a few single ones like: exposing, kinky, and over all, sexy. He could happily admit he could care less about his new desk.

Gabriella chuckled seductively at his reaction, the sultry note causing his arousal to heighten on a completely different level. "I was saving this for a rainy day…"

That was supposed to be a metaphorical term, but leave it to his summoner mage to take it to a completely literal level. Not that he was complaining, he enjoyed the view quite frankly, but he hoped this wasn't just a 'look, don't touch' situation. Though, the first thing that slurred passed his lips turned out to be: "Where the fuck did you get _this_…"

Gabriella chuckled sweetly, releasing his hands so she could cup his cheek to draw their lips closer together, but before they could even kiss, she mumbled: "That's a secret…"

That turned out to be okay with Kidd. As long as she wasn't making out in _this_ on another man's lap, which he highly doubted she was, then he was okay with anything she said because he got her all to himself.

If there was anywhere to go, that is.

Before it could get anywhere good, his door opened abruptly.

"_Oh~, Captain Eustass? Are you in there, my good man?_"

Gabriella gasped in shock against his lips and she pulled away, grabbing up the loose ends of her rain coat and wrapped them around herself like a cocoon of embarrassment against his chest.

"_Fuck,_" Kidd hissed, his eyes once again shooting death to the demonic forms better known as the three old men that had no idea what the term 'knocking' meant.

"Ah, there you are, Captain Eustass, we have been searching high and low for you on this ship." James said with a small smile, making his bushy mustache move with his upper lip. "We had to ask thirteen—"

"Fifteen," Robert corrected shortly.

"Ah, yes, thank you Robert, my good friend," James said, nodding in thanks to his fellow colleague then he turned back to Kidd, happily unaware of the murderous look he was receiving. "It was _fifteen_ people we had to ask before they told us you were in your personal dwelling doing work for Sir Chamberlain."

"Which leads us to our question that we all had for you," Ulysses interjected.

"Yes, yes, I was getting to that Ulysses, please calm yourself down, my old friend," James snapped, though it was in a polite way, towards his other colleague. Then he turned back to Kidd, still overlooking the look of pure death. "Now, the question simply is: where is Sir Chamberlain?"

"We haven't see hide nor tail of him since the morn," Robert explained.

"Exactly," Ulysses agreed with a nod.

"So, do you know the location of Sir Chamberlain?" James then asked again.

Kidd felt his gut boiling with so much violent fury that he was ready to jump from his seat and brutally murder the lot because they didn't ruin his option to have sex once, but _twice_. That was a no-no for Kidd, but he was able to restrain himself. The thought of gold, a _Pirate King's_ treasure, was just enough for him to stop. "At the wheel," Kidd was able to ground out through his teeth.

"Ah, of course, of course," James nodded, turning on the heel of his foot and started of the door. "Come on, gentlemen, we must get the _umbrellas!_" And all three then marched out of his office, shutting the door behind them.

Then it was only Kidd and his summoner mage felt in the silence, the awkward one left behind. The mood, once again, had been killed.

"Err…" Gabriella finally spoke up. "I think I'll change…it's getting kinda cold," and before Kidd could even stop her, she was heading to the door and then gone completely.

* * *

><p>A thin layer of sweat was building up along his bare skin, his hands pinned against the pillow behind his head as his finger nails dug into the back of Gabriella's hand. His body was quivering to move, his back slightly arched as his chest heaved up and down quickly, the trail of kisses along his jaw barely making a dent in calming him down.<p>

Once in a blue moon, he would let Gabriella be on top, and this was one of those rare nights. Though, Kidd had trouble with letting go of his dominate control to become the submissive, so before the end of it, he would usually force his way back into control by using his strength to rollover or grabbing her thighs to control the pace to what he wanted; faster or slower, depending on his mood.

So, it was coming around to the time where he took over, but then the worse, yet not unsurprising sadly, thing happened.

The door opened slowly. "_Captain Eustass, ole' chap? May we have a word with you?_"

Gabriella rolled off of him completely, curling up in a tight ball under the blankets to hide from the embarrassingly humiliating situation.

"_What the fuck!_" Kidd roared, shooting up in bed and he actually grabbed the knife sitting leisurely on his nightstand and chucked it at the door, but he wasn't used to short men waltzing into his room at the wee hours of night, so it missed James's head by a good two feet when it rammed into the doorframe. Not that the older man noticed the knife gleaming in the moonlight above him.

"Ah, you're awake, Captain Eustass," James said with a bright smile. "My apoloigizes for disturbing you so late, but we have another quick question for you, if you don't—" He then was stopped when a hand pushed against his back, allowing Ulysses to enter the room as well.

"I say!" Ulysses gasped, looking at Kidd's bookshelf in awe. "That is a mighty collection of astronomy books you have, Captain Eustass!"

"Oh~" The voice of Robert came from the doorway and he plowed through his two colleague to get into the room. "I must see this!"

Then the three men piled into his room, fawning over the many astronomy books his grandfather had given him before he became a pirate since it was the only type of book Kidd ever had his nose in, like seriously, _ever._ But that was besides the point, the point was that these three annoying pests that were somehow considered men had ruined his option of sex not once, not twice, but _**three** _times. That was a very, very,_ very_ big no-no for Kidd. "_Get the **FUCK** out of **MY** room!_" He roared, pointing a finger to the exit with dark eyes.

The three men stopped whatever they were doing and looked at him blankly.

"What fowl language," James tsked in disprovable.

"What poor manners," Ulysses added, shaking his head.

"I concur," Robert agreed.

"_I don't give a flyin' fuck!_" Kidd seethed, his face blistering a crimson red of rage. "_Just get the fuck out!_"

Then, in unison, all the old men scoffed, turning their nose in the air with a snobbish attitude and left the room single file.

When the door was closed, Kidd fell backward onto the bed with an irritated groan. The mood had been killed for the third time and there would be sex tonight, not because Gabriella was completely out of it, but his erection was now limper than a cooked noodle. No sex meant an unhappy Kidd.

* * *

><p>For three damn weeks Kidd was miserable. Every time he wanted to get a little <em>somethin'-somethin'<em> it was interrupted by the old men, which he liked to call the 'three blind mice' because they couldn't see what they were walking into every time. He hated them so much and every once in awhile, Killer had to stop him from taking the butcher knifes from the kitchen or one of Bedros's many pistols. Kidd wanted to kill them so bad; no one messes with his love, as in sex, life and he felt extremely horny because he was always so close, yet so far…

But the trip was a least half way over now. They had finally reached the island…but as Kidd looked around, he had a sense of déjà vu… Then Gabriella elaborated for him.

She walked up to him, grabbing his hands with a bright smile. "Remember this place?" She asked, and his silence told her no, so she continued with a small, yet happy, sigh. "This was the island that I told you I liked you? Remember now?"

Kidd felt his eyes open wide when she said that. That was a _really_ long time ago, but the thing that surprised him more was that fact that he was already at the island that held the first Pirate King's Treasure. God damnit, he could have avoided these three weeks in hell if he had just looked a bit harder.

"Isn't it romantic, Kidd?" Gabriella sighed again, leaning back on her heels to look up at the sky. "It's so surreal how far we've come. We didn't get along, but now we do."

"Most of the time," Kidd grumbled, rolling his eyes at the fights they would have in the past for stuff that was so small, but there were a few big ones.

"Don't ruin the moment, Kidd, gosh," Gabriella scoffed, ripping her hands from his and then crossed her arms over her chest.

Kidd just smirked when, feeling like his point was proven, but he decided to tease her just a bit more. So he grabbed her hips and then leaned over so they were almost looking each other at the same eye level and he said: "See what I mean?" He mused, which made her scoffed again and looked away from him. His smirk widened. "And you should remember that this is the dock I shoved you from," and he jerked her backwards roughly, though never letting go of her, but he still got the same reaction out of her.

She yelped, her eyes opening wide when she thought she was going to be pushed in the water again. But when she realized she wasn't going into the water, her cheeks beamed a bright pink as her brows furrowed together. "Knock it off!" She shrieked, trying to escape from his gasp as he started to laugh wildly at her.

Kidd did let go, but in a way that he was holding her differently. He hoisted her up and off her feet, her chest pressed against his as he held her up within his arms around her back. "Sorry, but I just can't help but ruffle those little feathers of yours, babe."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and tried her best to look away from him, but it was hard since their faces were only a few inches apart.

Kidd continued to smirk at her and he was about to lean it to kiss her, but that was stopped, just like a lot of things in the past few weeks; only this time by a different person.

"_Eustass? Is that you? Oh, how nostalgic!_"

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><p>Now for Tigereye13's mini for being the 300th review.<p>

Enjoy~

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><p>Madeline peeked into the room, scanning the area to make sure it was clear. When she said that it was, she smiled brightly and waltzed right in to the best place in the whole wide world: Killer's room.<p>

She had been coming in his room for months now when he was either not there or sleeping to either touch him or his stuff. This was one of those days where Killer, her amazingly handsome boyfriend, wasn't there at the moment so she took full liberty to go through this closet and smell his shirts. She loved the smell of his shirts; they turned her on just like when she saw his masked face everyday.

"_Oi!_"

She knew that voice, it was Killer, and for a second she thought she was caught and would get brutally beaten up, again, but she saw that he was still on the other side of the door. She had nowhere to run to, so she did the only thing she could and that is jump into the closet and shut the door, leaving it open only a crack so she could watch what happened.

And this is what she saw:

_Killer was carrying in Bedros bridal style to the bed, the stone devil groaning in pain with a pinkish blush on his tanned cheeks. The masked blonde was careful with the seemingly injured devil holding a hand to his stomach in pain. "What's wrong?" Killer then asked, gently laying the stone devil out on his bed._

_Bedros just moaned, curling up in a tight as his face turned a darker shade of pink. "I...I..." he stuttered, averting his eyes from the masked blonde as his cheeks turned from pink to red._

_Killer sighed, slowly taking off his masked, shaking his head to toss his golden locks to the side. He placed his mask on the nightstand then turned his attention back to the stone devil, placing a hand to his cheek gently. "You know you can tell me..." He said in a comforting voice._

_Bedros nodded, but his cheeks grew crimson red as he started stuttering again. "I...I...I'm pregnant, Killer..." he answered quietly in a sheepish tone._

_Killer froze momentarily, but then he sighed softly and leaned forward, brushing his lips against the stone devil's. "It's okay..." he murmured gently before fully placing his lips against Bedros's. And the stone devil, wrap his arms around the blonde's neck, pulling him closer as he ignored the pain coming from his abdomen and kissed Killer back until the blonde was on top of him, straddling his hips like many nights before._

And this is what really happened:

"Stupid moron," Killer grumbled quietly to himself as he grudgingly carried Bedros in his arms as he kicked open the door to his room. "Throw up in front of my door and then collapse in front of it. You're lucky I caught you before you fell into your own vomit. What the hell did you eat anyway?"

Bedros didn't reply and only groaned in pain.

Killer rolled his eyes from behind his masked and then, ungracefully, threw the stone devil upon his bed, making Bedros moan even more, curling in a tight ball of agony has he held his stomach. "What the hell happened?" He then asked.

"I...I ate some of the fish for lunch..." Bedros whimpered, cringing as a shot of pain hit his stomach once more. "And it must have been spoiled...god...I feel like a pregnant woman on crack..."

Killer scoffed. "Just don't throw up on my bed, I'll get Doc," but before he left, he heard a feminine gasp from his closet and he sighed, _not again..._


	62. Chapter 61: Labyrinth

Alpenwolf: You got through this story faster because the chapters are shorter...lol.

akagami him chan: Don't know what a fujoshi is, but Madeline must be one for she is crazy? Well, there is no doubt that Madeline it crazy; she's fucked up.

Trafalgar Riley: Madeline's Closet Adventures? Seems like a fun idea, especially when Killer brings in Peggie (possible pairing?).

Son of Whitebeard: Don't really knew if that's how Robert, James, and Ulysses would look like...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 61: Labyrinth<p>

If Kidd couldn't think that it could not have gotten any worse with the three blind mice called old men around screwing up his love life, then he was strongly mistaken. Once at the island, he met up with an old rival of his, _again_: Scratchman Apoo.

The motherfucker with the crazy arms and stupid devil fruit was there, waving at him mockingly as he came over to 'greet' Kidd as if they were old friends. It irked him that that the rival pirate captain would dare come over to his presence, but it seemed that Apoo was focused on something other than Kidd: Gabriella. With all his mocking actions aside, Apoo waltzed right past Kidd and straight to Gabriella and bowed like a gentleman would as he introduced himself, saying that he was an acquaintance of Kidd's from Shabondy two years ago.

Kidd had roughly snapped that they were nowhere near 'acquaintances' and were full blown enemies. In the past, Kidd wouldn't have so much looked Apoo's way, thinking he was just a little fish in a big sea, but after their fight at Shabondy, Kidd promoted him to a medium sized fish to worry about at certain times. Though, as the two years pasted by, Killer had kept tabs on all the Supernova and it seemed that Apoo had grown, turning into a big fish to watch out for. Thus, the reason why Kidd considered him a rival, but more like an enemy now because he was talking to Gabriella. Over protection or jealousy, call it what you wished; he just didn't like the motherfucker talking to _his_ girl.

Kidd's outburst had been ignored though, Apoo just brushing it, literally, from his shoulder like it was dust and then he turned back to Gabriella, whispering to her that they had gotten into a big fight back then because Apoo was staring at his horrendous looking outfit, then he sneaked a glance towards Kidd and added that his outfit seemed to grow with even more distaste as the years went by.

Gabriella had laughed at that, making Kidd bristle scarlet red out of rage, _not_ embarrassment that _his_ girlfriend was laughing at the crude joke, at what she did, but she atoned for her sins by saying that she was attracted to his sense of style, finding it rather sexy. Though, she had to go for a low blow and say that when she first met him, she thought his outfit was rather ugly like Apoo did.

Apoo had laughed wildly at her honest statement of the past, wiping tiny droplets from the corner of his eyes. Then he made the wise decision of moving to a different topic, since Kidd was on the verge of having a very unhappy fit, and asked what they were doing on this little island. The answer from Kidd would have been _none of your business, motherfucker,_ but sadly that's when the three blind mice bluntly stated they were after Trolley's Treasure, first King of the Pirates. Beli signs appeared in Apoo's wide eyes and he demanded he get a cut in on this adventure, saying that it would be 'wise' in case of traps.

And this is what pissed Kidd off the most is when the three old men had agreed, saying the more the merrier.

So now, Kidd was stiffly standing in front of the giant hole he and his summoner mage along with Bedros had fallen into for what seemed like forever ago. No one dared venture near him thanks to the dark aura swimming around him, even the three old men, surprisingly, felt a deadly vibe from his person and steered clear and continued their excavation of the hole by using his classically conditioned men to do the dirty work, literally. Though, Killer and Chamberlain seemed to be the only ones that dared crossed paths with Kidd when he was in this sour.

"You okay?" Killer asked, walking up beside him with Chamberlain right behind him.

Kidd just grunted.

"So something's wrong," Chamber stated frankly.

"No," Kidd grumbled lowly, though his mind was somewhere else. He was looking to the side, glaring coldly at Apoo that was chatting it up with his summoner mage still, and he was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"…and he couldn't even land a hit on me," Apoo proclaimed boldly, looking rather smug about the fact that Kidd hadn't beaten him that unfaithful day in Shabondy.

"You should feel proud," Gabriella praised him with a smile. "Most people can't say they survived an attack from Kidd unharmed. Not even I could say I have," she then laughed lightly.

Apoo's eyes went wide with mild shock. "_Eh? Kidd hits you?_ What a terrible boyfriend," he tsked, placing his hands on his hips while he shook his head in disapproval.

"Oh, no, no, no," Gabriella waved her hands frantically in front of her, like she was trying to take back what she just said. "Kidd hasn't hit me while in our relationship, only before when I was a lowly, stubborn crewmember. In fact…" she trailed off, placing a hand to her cheek gently. "This was the last place he slapped me, right after I told him I liked him."

Apoo gasped in shock, slapping his hands to his cheeks. "He really did that to you when you said your feelings? _How rude!_"

"It was nothing," Gabriella waved it aside, placing both of her hands to her cheeks, closing her eyes with a smile. "He's made it up to me since then."

Kidd didn't know whether to feeling offended by the conversation or be okay with it. He didn't get a chance to decide since the excavation was finished.

The crude wooden scaffolding build into the held up the rocks and thick mounts of dirt from caving in on them as they carried the large, primary colored diamonds down safely. Once the precious gems were on the ground of the hole, they started down the tunnel that used to only be a crack in the wall compared to how wide it was now; Kidd didn't need to worry about getting stuck in there anymore. Though, Bedros didn't want to do down in at all. Not because of getting stuck, just because he didn't want to go down what he called, _that_ hole, but Killer pushed him, right after he pushed, punched, Madeline into the hole as well.

Kidd watched the scene and then sighed, shaking his head; he felt like this was only the beginning of a very shitty treasure hunt.

* * *

><p>The walk through the tunnel was much different than before, and it also seemed larger. Besides the size of the tunnel, the walls of it looked greatly different as well, and it was something to admire how much the dirt and rock were covering. It was like a hidden temple was buried under the island. The once narrow tunnel he had walked through was now a grand hallway, filled with hieroglyphs, the pictures telling the stories of humanoid rats living their daily life to wars with humans. Kidd could easily ignore the pictures, though his summoner mage, not so much. Gabriella seemed distraught when she saw the images, huddling close to his side by clinging to his arm like it was a form of protection. She hated rats, though for some reason she liked Apoo…<p>

He tossed that aside, even if he considered it to be true, when the group stopped at the large bridge that Bedros had restored using his magic, and he made sure to tell everyone so. Though, the only ones that seemed to show that they were impressed were the three men that said if the bridge was not restored then they could never get to the next part of their adventure. After a few droning minutes, the old men finally figured out what to do next through their messy research papers and with a few hidden lever pulls on the gargoyles on, which Kidd saw actually had a rattish personality, the bridge started to creak. It shifted slowly at first, but then it cracked violently to make the entire chamber shake to its core that caused people to topple over to the ground. Kidd thought that the old men as broken the goddamn thing, but they didn't. The bridge had turned into stairs that traveled down the pit it formerly crossed.

With the new path to travel, the large group took their fire lit lanterns and descended the stairs into the unknown, and the first thing that was said down there was by Bedros to Gabriella.

"Look, it's that giant rat," was what he said.

And Gabriella's response was yelping loudly, clinging to Kidd's arms even tighter as she scurried away from the rotting corpse, the old bones showing through eaten through flesh. "I hate rats," she grumbled, trying to look away from the gory scene of smaller rats nibbling on the dead body.

"They aren't all that bad," Apoo then cut in with a tiny shrug. "They can work wonders with a little tune," he pointed out, winking at her friendly.

"I will never_ ever_ sing to a rat, _ever,_" Gabriella huffed stubbornly, puffing out her cheeks childishly.

"You sing?" Apoo questioned, his brow rising in curiosity. "I would like to hear one time then, I'm a bit of a musician myself."

"Okay," she replied with a shrug.

Kidd halted, stopping in his tracks. _Oh hell to the fucking no_, she did _not_ just say that. Rage boiled in his blood; he had been trying for months to get her to sing to him and it took him _forever_ to get her to agree and she meets this motherfucker a few hours ago and when he asks, it' _okay?_ _No, not cool._ Kidd did not approve of this action and to show his disprovable, he roughly slung Gabriella over his shoulder and walked away into another tunnel that branched off the main one they were in.

"Kidd—" Killer started to call out warily when he saw what happened.

"I'm goin' this way," Kidd barked, cutting his first mate off as he snatched a lantern from one of the men before he stormed off into the darkness of a different tunnel.

Gabriella was now furious with him, pounding her fists to his back, demanding that he put her down. And he ignored her until he deemed it worth to actually put her down, which was when he could not longer walk forward anymore due to an underground lake blocking his way. Then he put her down. "_You bastard!_" she shrieked once she was on her feet again. "You know I _hate_ that. I'm not some fuckin' sack of potatoes!" She continued, jabbing a finger to his chest.

Kidd ignored her bitching and simply said: "You're a bitch."

Gabriella looked at him in shock, her brows going to her hairline, but then they sank back down in rage as they knotted together. "_What the fuck!_ Why the hell am I a _bitch?_ I did _nothing_ to you; you're the one that manhandled me, _again!_"

Kidd was about to answer her, listing off the shit that she did to him in only a matter of hours, but then ground shook violently. It was like a shuttering roar from the underground lake, liked a monster was under it which made the earth shake and caused them to tumble to the ground. And, once again, was déjà vu, just like when he came to this island: he landed on top of Gabriella. Though, his hands seemed to be on different surfaces as they went out to catch himself from flattening against her. His mechanical hand resting on the hard ground, yet his other hand felt something extremely soft between his fingers. When he looked at it, he saw Gabriella's breast in his palm.

"Hmm…" he hummed, feeling that the unintended contact cooled down his rage by far since his mind was starting to realize that they were _alone_ with no chances of someone coming to bug them.

"Stop feeling me up," Gabriella snapped; her rage still present unlike his.

Kidd ignored her and just massaged her chest, fueling his arousal that he planned to release quite soon. Then he leaned forward, letting his lips run along her jaw to plant wet kisses along her soft skin. "You looked so hot right now, babe," he whispered in a husky breath.

"Kidd. _Stop._" Gabriella barked, trying to push him away from her form. "You don't just get all touchy-touchy after you called me a bitch!"

That made Kidd stop, and his rage flooded right back and he scowled down at her. "You called me a bastard," he countered back with a snap, but he had more ammo for this one. "Plus all the other bullshit you did today, starting with telling that motherfucker Apoo that I was ugly. Then you brought up the very distance past of when I hit you, making it seem like I'm an abusive boyfriend. And lastly, you said you would _sing_ for him?" Kidd ended coldly, giving her the hint to think about the last statement.

Gabriella, finally hearing all the flaws she had said that day looked away sheepishly then mumbled. "Well, I said that I didn't think you were ugly anymore and that you haven't hit me since that day."

"Sometimes the negative out weigh the positive, babe," he sneered.

"Oh…I'm sorry," she murmured and looked back up at him, a sincerely innocent expression on her features that made the rare effect of Kidd's heart melt.

Only a few times could make this happened to him, and most of the times were when he was still a child, but when he became a teen, those moments had ended. Then Gabriella came in his life and those heart melting moments came back; in fact, his heart was used more when Gabriella was around instead of being considered a black hole in his chest.

He would forgive the little slip up; she did say sorry and plus, he didn't want to have fights with her anymore, so that meant going straight to the make up sex. "Don't just tell me you're sorry," he whispered, leaning in close to her ear, his heavy breath thick on her skin to cause goose bumps. "S_how me._"

And she did.

Clothes were shed and moans echoed off the walls.

But then a scream caused something to surface in the lake beside them, and unbeknownst to them, two pairs of beady red eyes watched with hearts in its eyes.


	63. Chapter 62: Treasure of the King

Son of Whitebeard: I guess the eyes could be scary...in a way? You'll have to see.

Alpenwolf: I 'LOLed' when I read your review. You might not get in not, but you will at the end of the chapter.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Thank you for liking the chapter and story. Also, I'm glad that you like how I 'made' Kidd; most (like me) think he's kinda OoC, but I guess that's what makes it good?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 62: Treasure of the King.<p>

Killer stood quietly to the side watching the animated scene before him. Apoo had it up to his neck with the three old men, just like Kidd. Though, this didn't have to do with sex life being interrupted, but rather that fact that his crew was getting classically conditioned within a matter of minutes to do all sorts of things. Apoo was waving his oddly jointed arms around with rage at the three men five times small than him, but the elderly paid no heed. They were busy decoding the language on the walls to figure out where the diamonds need to go, but all the while, they were conditioning the men into carrying the diamonds which way and that. Like it was a sofa and they thought it looked better in one corner of the room, but then decided that it looked even better in another.

Killer would admit he found it slightly amusing, making him chuckle lightly at the scene. If only Kidd was here to see it, too. Which reminded him, where did Kidd go again? The red head had left a while back and the large group had gone on without them, knowing the two could handle themselves if something were to happen.

Then there was the skipping of a pebble bouncing off the ground behind him, making Killer glance of his shoulder, seeing the tiny stone stop beside his boot. Then he gazed up when footsteps followed and he saw the feminine image of Gabriella emerge from the shadows.

She stumbled out of the blackness of the tunnel, her ginger hair a mess as she rubbed the side of her head. She groaned tiny curses too soft for even Killer to pick up what she was saying, not that he could understand the dialect anyway; it was the foreign language that only the hellion could speak. He knew that because the two summoner mages and the stone devil use it every once and awhile.

"What happened to—?"

"_I fell,_" Gabriella snapped bitterly, cutting him off quickly as she strode passed him to where Madeline and Bedros were standing off to the side.

Killer just stared blankly as she went by, but then movement from behind make him look over his shoulder again, seeing Kidd this time.

Kidd looked just as messy as the summoner mage did. His hair looking more wild and out of place than normal, his coat draped across his shoulders nearly falling off. And, Kidd was also strolling out of the darkness while adjusting his pants, fixing the belt and sash around his waist with a cocky grin.

It became clear to Killer.

"You had sex," he stated bluntly as Kidd stopped beside him, the heel of his boot covering that tiny pebble from before.

"_Hell yeah,_" Kidd smirked. "And it was _fuckin' good._"

* * *

><p>"You had sex, <em>eh?<em>" Bedros mused, his brow rising with interest at the sour look on the summoner mage's face.

"Yeah," Gabriella grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why are you all upset then?" Madeline questioned, her brows knitting together in confusion. "Weren't you getting all antsy for the past couple of weeks because you didn't have sex?"

"Yeah…" Gabriella mumbled in reply, her sour features softening lightly.

"Then what's the problem?" Madeline then asked.

"I realized that we had sex on a patch of filthy, dirty underground floor," Gabriella bluntly answered with a scowl.

That made Bedros laugh out loud; throwing back his head has he held his stomach. "Ya'll were gonna getting dirty anyway!"

Gabriella snapped her head towards him, glaring darkly at him and then punched him roughly in the arm. "_Shuddup!_" She hissed angrily. "There's more!"

"Oh yeah?" Bedros chuckled, swiping tiny water droplets from the corner of his eyes. "Please, indulge us with more of how the sex was horrible for ya. It's entertaining."

"The sex wasn't horrible," Gabriella corrected sharply. "It was just the place, since it was a gross floor that could have rats running around it," she elaborated with attitude. "And…" she then suddenly trailed off.

"_And?_" Bedros drew out, looking at her expectingly.

"And…it felt like we were being…_watched._" Gabriella finished, shuttering at the thought.

"_Ewe~_" Madeline spoke up from her silence, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"I know right!" Gabriella agreed. "Who'd want to watch me and Kidd have sex? Like, _seriously._"

"Well…" Bedros started to say then paused when he saw the looks he was getting. He clicked his tongue, wondering if he should continue, and repeated. "Well," he drew out slowly and then shrugged, going on with his comment. "You'd be surprised how many guys would, actually."

The response to his comment was silence.

So, Bedros decided it would be best for him to explain. "Well, in bars, there are those few extremely drunk guys and when they see you," he motioned to Gabriella. "They always say something 'bout banging you, but then another says it would be suicide because of Kidd, but then there is something wise guy that says he'd pay to watch '_Exotic __Scarlet_' porn."

Gabriella was silent, her lips pressed in a thin line as she scowled at the stone devil.

Bedros put his hands up in defense. "I didn't say it, and I wouldn't watch."

Gabriella scoffed, rolling her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but she was stopped.

The chamber started to shake, uprooting loose rocks from the ceiling so they tumbled down on the heads of the pirates around the area. Chaos erupted as men attempted to get away from danger, but the rocks were only a minor thing compared to what tunneled its way through the ceiling: a giant rat with fins. The creature shot of from the rocks of the ceiling, roaring loudly as it waved its clawed paws around, the slick fingers slightly webbed for swimming purposes.

"_It's a Sea King!_" James shouted from the shoulder of the man that carried him to safety; since the old man was needed to get the treasure. "_I say! What a fascinating creature!_"

"_Wouldn't that be a fine specimen to take back to Athens!_" Ulysses called in reply from his spot at the wall that was safe from falling rocks.

"_I do believe it would ruffle the feathers of Professor Armstrong's team!_" Robert shouted coyly with a grin.

"_I agree!_" James yelled back.

"_I conquer!_" Ulysses agreed.

"_**SHUT THE FUCK UP!**_" Kidd screamed, his face blistering crimson red from rage as he took a battle stance to fight the massive creature hanging upside down from the ceiling, even though his devil fruit powers would be void without a large amount of metal to work with. But he would make do with the weapons the pirates had around them.

Though, the sound of his voice seemed to shake the Sea King, making the giant rat look his way. Kidd growled when he saw that he had unintentionally grabbed the creature's attention when he didn't want to, but he wasn't expecting the next thing to happen: the Sea King scooped him up in its paws. Kidd then started shout a long sting of profanities as he was forced to be held upside down as well, unable to move his arms as blood started to rush to his head.

The Kidd Pirates started to rise up arms, knowing that their captain was currently defenseless, but Gabriella was the only one that didn't move.

The summoner mage stood where she was, looking up at the giant rat with disgust, but she felt an odd sense when she saw those beady red eyes of the creatures. And when she looked closer, she saw thumping pink hearts within the crimson shade. Though she hated rats, she couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

It was disturbing to know that it was the rat that had watched them have sex, but it was humorous to find out that the rat was a _female_ that now had a _crush_ on Kidd. Gross, yet funny at the same time, but then her laughing then snared the giant rat's attention. And there, Gabriella found out that since the rat loved Kidd that meant the rat obviously had to hate her. It was a dead give away when the heart's in the rats eyes turned to flames and Gabriella felt the large rat's greasy palm ram into her form and send her flying across the chamber and it a stone wall.

"_**GABRIELLA!**_" She heard Kidd scream her name.

She was out of it for a moment, falling to the ground in a heap and unable to move, but the shouts and explosions of battle forced her to move, rubbing her head. The giant rat liking Kidd was no longer funny; it now made her pissed. But she felt too rattled to do anything, her back feeling way too sore to even move, so she just looked up at the fight and waited for the right moment to jump in.

Though, she hoped she could get her bearings together sooner then later since the pirates weren't doing all too well with fighting the Sea King. The large paw and tail were considered a dangerous weapon when the rat was the size of a giant. Their weapons seemed to have no affect on the creature, causing them to grow frustrated with the situation since bullets seemed to glance of the Sea King's skin, like there were scales under the fur. No matter what the pirate did, they couldn't stop the beast nor could they free Kidd. That caused Kidd to curse like no tomorrow since he was still hanging upside down in the palm of a greasy rat's paw.

But, Apoo seemed to have a plan. For most of the fight, he tried to keep the men calm, but he saw that, as the only captain able to do something, he had to make the effort to stop the beast. Even if it meant saving a rival; so he used his devil fruit powers, making his arm turn into a long oboe and started to play. The tune caused a sudden silence which made all go quiet, especially the giant rat. The flames in her eyes from rage shifted to dazed stars that lit up within her beady red eyes, which made her grip on Kidd loosen, but not enough for the red head to be released. Now, it was up to the Kidd Pirate's resident bomber to do what he did best.

Jacques quickly took out one of the many barrel bombs around his belt and then with a flick of a match, the fuse was lit and the bomb thrown. "_**Fire in zee hole!**_" The bomber shouted, causing more chaos to erupt as the bomb sailed through the air then hit home on the rat's thin, furry arm.

The beast then snapped from its daze over the music, dropping Kidd completely so the red head started to the ground. With more grace than anyone could have excepted, Kidd flipped through the air and landed firmly on his feet, but he wasn't out of the park yet. The pain cause from the bomb caused the giant rat to panic, thrashing about wildly so that is started to slip from its spot hanging from the ceiling.

Kidd's eyes opened wide, his voice lost to the curse that wanted to come out when the Sea King's body started to head towards him, and this is when Gabriella snapped from her headache and sores, jumping into battle. Not literally though, she simply opened a portal, thanks to the enchanted gold hanging around her neck. The zippering sound of the vortex opening was lost within the sound of rocks crumbling, but before the rat landed atop of Kidd, he fell through the portal that opened below his feet and then landed on his feet beside the summoner mage.

"What the—" He started to say, looking down at his hands in confusion, and then looked up seeing the rat being buried under a thin layer of rumble from the ceiling. But then he noticed Gabriella struggling to get up beside him. "Babe, you okay?" He asked quickly, grabbing her arms to help place her firmly on her feet.

She moaned gently, feeling a rush of dizziness from being moved so quickly, but she shook if off mentally and said instead: "I should be asking you the same thing."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Kidd answered hurriedly, his grip tightening on her biceps. "Now are you okay. You look out of it."

"I'm fine," she replied, rubbing her forehead lightly; the cried of victory in the background wasn't making her headache feel any better.

"Do you need to lie down, or something?" Kidd then asked, his hands moving around her head like he was inspecting for any hidden injury that was fatal.

"No, I'm fine, Kidd," she replied again, but more sharply.

"We can go back to the ship—"

"_Kidd!_" She snapped, cupping his cheeks to force him to look her in the eye. "I'm fine," she said calmly and reassured him with a small smile. "Don't forget the goal of coming here," she reminded him shortly and then went up on her tippy-toes to place a tiny kiss to his lips.

Then a roar broke out through the chamber, making all head whirl to the giant crawling out of the rumble over its form.

It seemed that collapsing to the floor from the ceiling didn't kill or even knock out the Sea King, and now the lady rat was not too happy with seeing Gabriella kiss her man. The summoner mage knew she was in for a handful; the rage of an obsessed woman, animal or human, was not something to mess with. But this was _her_ man they were, oddly enough, fighting over. So, she was going to pull out all the stops on this one.

Glancing down at her hip, she saw her Ohdan's sword strapped to her belt. She had been practicing with the magical weapon for months now, and she may not have the best handle on the power it had just yet, but Calamity said that she could control it; practice did make perfect, anyway. Though, she hadn't tried it since her teacher left, but now seemed the best time to try. The pressure under battle seemed like the best idea to see her limits, right?

So, she stepped forward as she placed a hand to Kidd's chest, silently signaling to him that she had it under control. Or, at least she hoped so. This was no time to second guess herself, and so, she unsheathed her Ohdan's sword, the sound of metal rubbing against metal flashed through her ears as she pointed the blade at the beast. The Sea King was trying to make its way to the summoner mage, but the pirates around the beast slowed her down with bullets from revolvers and rifles, also a few explosions from the French bomber. That left Gabriella with the moment of opportunity to use the sword, with a little less pressure than before, but there was always a chance that everything would backfire, literally.

She held the hilt tightly within her grasp at the thought, but there was no turning back here; she had do something. And with one swift move, she swung the blade and shouted: "_Caden's Demonic Sword!_" And in a blast, fire came forth, but instead of throwing her backwards like many times before, the flames propelled towards her target.

The chamber filled with bright light as the fire swarmed the mighty Sea King, the matted fur of the beast bursting into flames. As predicted, she had trouble control the blade's powerful demonic magic, and she started to tremble, her stance slipping backwards with the force. But then she felt strong hands on her back. She sneaked a glance over her shoulder and saw that Kidd was helping her, grinding his teeth together. Even with Kidd behind her helping it was difficult, but she held strong.

And there in the mists of it all, her eyes opened wide she saw something dance within the intense flames. It looked like a man, with ash colored skin and blazing fire from hair. The being was in the fire, twirling the sword with grace as if it was the one controlling it rather than her. As the movements of the being's sword grew more wild, the flames grew bigger, making the pirates around the burning creature hurry away from the fires, trying to escape harsh burns or worse, death.

She knew it was time to pull back, and with all the strength she could muster, she pulled the flames back within her sword. She stumbled backwards as all the fire shot back to the blade in a flash, Kidd barely catching both their weights as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. That took a chuck of her energy out, barely allowing her to stand. So she just leaned against Kidd's board form.

"Nice job, babe," Kidd whispered out of breath, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

She just nodded in response, looking of the scene from her attack to see if anyone got hurt, but it seemed that the only one that got seriously hurt was the rat.

The creature collapsed to the floor unmoving, it's body burnt to a crisp and one of the old men, Robert, scrambled forward with a stray stick to the beast and then began poking it in the nose. "_I believe it is dead, gentlemen and ladies!_" He then shouted.

"_I conquer!_" James agreed.

"_Now, let's get back to work with those diamonds!_" Ulysses then ordered.

Kidd groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead and grumbled a tiny curse; but he knew that the old men were right. So, slinging an arm around her waist for support, she started to walk over to his crew to get them to work on moving the diamonds.

The men carried the diamonds around the chamber, much like they did when they first got there. It seemed that the three old men couldn't decide whether it belonged there or over there. Though, once they stumbled, literally upon three short pillars hidden beneath the rumble that had the right size holders for each diamonds, they figured out what they needed to do. So, once the diamonds were in place, sinking into the holders, a door started to open slowly on the other side of the chamber.

When the door opened, Kidd, after passing Gabriella off to Madeline for the moment, plowed through the masses, followed by Apoo, who tried to push past him to take the lead into the treasure room. The two fought with shoving shoulders, and it looked like Kidd was on the verge to just hurl Apoo to the other side of the chamber, but when they got to the doorway they stopped in their tracks.

There was no shimmer of gold and glittering gems with in the large space, only dank black rocks and the old, tattered banner with the Jolly Roger that belonged to none other than Gold Rogers himself.

* * *

><p>Who that it was going be Gabs that the rat fell in love with? Well, you were all wrong! :D<p> 


	64. Chapter 63: Fortune Cookies

A shorter chapter, but I will make up for it on Halloween. Also, I had this chapter finished yesterday, but all the last minute edits I made in Doc. Manger didn't save. Which pisses me off. So, I had to redo it, thus making me even more mad, so there will be mistakes.

Son of Whitebeard: ...No, I that's not what I implied...

Alpenwolf: A male rat? Now I didn't think of that one...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Thank you for liking the chapter. And Kidd's reaction...you'll have to see it.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 63: Fortune Cookie<p>

Kidd had gone into a state of complete silence when he saw that the treasure chamber was empty. If a feather was dropped in the area, it would sound like an atomic bomb because it was just _that_ quiet. The pirate captain simply stared off into the distance darkness of the space, gazing up at the old Jolly Roger of the former King of Pirates. The sneering smiley face of a cartoon skull with a curly mustache looked rather mocking, as if the old banner was laughing at them for been twenty or more years late.

Everyone waited anxiously on their toes to see what the fiery red head was going to do next, even Apoo stood off to the side in anticipation for the outcome. Was he going to explode into a verbal or killing rage? No one knew, and quite frankly, no one could tell; not even Killer or Chamberlain. Kidd had the perfect poker face. Not even the old men could clearly state was behind the mask, making everyone on edge.

Then there was a brutal white flash of a camera, making Kidd snap from his blank daze and look behind him to see the three old men holding cameras in their hands as their wrinkly fingers continually pressed the button so they could document the room.

"_This is most fascinating!_" James proclaimed as he took another picture of the Jolly Roger. "_This will be something that goes down in history!_"

"_This is probably why Gol D. Roger took the title King of Pirates!_" Ulysses gasped, walking around the room with magnifying glass to the ground. Then he stopped. "_Gentleman!_" He shouted over his shoulder. "_I found footprints~! And I believe they are Roger's!_"

"_Oh, let me get the measuring tape!_" Robert called back in bliss, scampering over to the sight. "_I do have the foot size of Gol D. Roger's memorized, after all_."

"_Oh, hush, hush_," Ulysses shushed as he continued to study the footprints with brows knitted together in thought. "_Are these Silvers Rayleigh's footprints?_"

"_Oh the wonders!_" James exclaimed as he walked over to the group of his colleagues. "_This will more definitely get more funds in our account._"

No one paid much attention to the old men, only their voices in the background; everyone's eyes were on Kidd. The red head's brows were furrowed, his body stiff as he watched the scene. He looked ready to explode. But then he did the unexpected, and surprising, thing of relaxing his form and turning sharply on his heel and commanded: "Move out!" as he started to head for the exit.

Shell shocked as the mood was an understatement.

There were rare times that Kidd did something out of the blue that no one thought he had the guts to do, like walking away from a potential killing spree of a rival pirate captain and his crew, but also the three men that had made his life a living hell for three weeks because he couldn't have sex. But he did nothing, Kidd just left, which left his crew stunned as he strode passed them with ease. Then he stopped and looked over his shoulder and shouted: "I said: _move out!_"

His crew scrambled awake at the second time the order was commanded by their captain, all the men rushing to fall in line behind Kidd as he continued his stride away from the empty treasure chamber.

Though, Killer easily pushed passed the lower members of the crew and fell in step with Kidd. There was a moment of silence between the two, but then Killer spoke up because the questions had been eating him up inside: "What's the deal?"

"It's simple," Kidd scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Didn't you hear the old geezers? They said they're gonna get funds for this; that means money and that money is gonna pay use for this little…_adventure_." He explained, keeping his voice low so Apoo wouldn't over heat, just in case, but Kidd wasn't done. "Plus, Roger got the treasure, so when I get One Piece, I get Trolley's Treasure, too." Kidd said with a smug smirk crossing his lips. "This means I don't have to split anything with anyone."

Killer stared at his captain for a long moment, and then he nodded. For once, that plan made perfect sense. And Killer wondered why he didn't think of that.

* * *

><p>If she was happy, then he should be, right? That's how a relationship went; if she was happy, then so was he. But that wasn't the case. Kidd was nowhere near happy, even after he got a healthy dose of beli from the old men's new funds since he also got the agreed form of payment, too: the walking, talking bear.<p>

But it was no bear; it was a _club_, a _baby_ bear. Hence the reason Gabriella was smothering the animal with love and Kidd wanted to shoot himself.

"I say…" the bear named Benjamin wheezed through the summoner mage's tight grasp. "Please, good woman, release me for a moment so I may breathe…"

"_Awe~_" Gabriella cooed, rubbing her cheek against Benjamin's furry head. "_He's swo cwute!_" She giggled obnoxiously, squeezing her arms around him tighter so there was a defined squeak from the hugging scene; like a rubber duck was within the mess of mage and bear.

Kidd felt like banging his head against the table until he got knocked out, but he decided a different approach would be better. So, he looked around the crowded restaurant they were in, examining all the different clothing from the foreign lands of Wano. They had a strange taste in clothing, though, Kidd had no room to talk really. Their food was good, he could admit that: Chinese food was amazing. Though, he knew from Killer that, Wano had more of a Japaneses background, but Kidd could care less; food was food. But, he highly doubted he would enjoy it. Usually, he liked going to Chinese, or Japaneses, joints because watching his crew try and use chopsticks was hilarious, but today, the joy was ripped right out of it.

He shook his head of the thoughts, trying to focus back on the scenery of the dinning area. His eyes roamed to the ceiling, traveling across the paper lanterns that lit the space dimly. The dark lighting made a mood that Kidd could sit it; it was neither perky, preppy or just plain gross. Plus, the food was good, like he said before; it was just one of those nice, sit in restaurants that Kidd could handle. But when he found out they did take out too, he was half tempted to call them up, while still at sea. Killer said it was irrational to try, yet, Kidd still tried. And failed, giving Killer another thing to taunt him about.

Then his thoughts were shot when there was the sound of that defined squeak beside him and his head hit the table top.

"Killer," he grumbled irritably to his first mate.

"What?" Killer grunted, trying to fend off Madeline, as usual.

"Get me a brick wall," Kidd ordered grumpily.

"How 'bout you get me a brick," Killer snapped back, and then there was the sound of movement, as if something was handed to the masked blonde. "Ah, this will do," and then there was the distinct sound of thin metal ramming into a thick skull of an obsessed woman. "Do you want this?"

Kidd slowly looked up, seeing that Killer was holding out a bronze tray with the imprint of Madeline's gasping face. He scowled at the image and grumbled; "No thanks." And he was about to get up to find that brick wall he was talking about, but then something stopped him.

"_Cap-Captain Eustass!_" His name was called, making Kidd look up to see a teen pushing through the crowds of people within the restaurant.

He had no idea who the boy was and, quite frankly, he didn't care. He wanted that brick wall, or maybe even a brick… But then he noticed that someone was clinging to the teen's neck to try and hold him back, who turned out to be Gregory. That's when Kidd remembered the teen; he was the one that barged through the door weeks ago and Gregory carried him out.

It was most likely the younger brother of the jungle doctor, Kidd could tell by the family resemblance through facial features, and the shaggy brown hair. But the teen wore glasses over his dark eyes and was thinner in stature compared to his older brother, but he must have been strong if he could drag Gregory along. Or he was just really determined.

"_Captain Eustass!_ Can I—" The teen tried to speak as he stood before the table, but Gregory was just as determined to get his brother away.

"That's _enough_ Jeremy," Gregory hissed angrily into his younger brother's ear as he picked him clear off the ground. Then he turned to Kidd with a nervous smile. "I'm truly sorry about this—" he started to, but then Jeremy spoke over him.

"_I want to join your crew!_" The teen yelled long and hard, making everyone in the restaurant stop whatever they were doing and stare for a moment before quickly going back to their former tasks.

"No, he doesn't," Gregory snapped back, more to his brother than Kidd, but the red head had something to say about it.

"Put him down," he ordered, and instantly, Gregory did so.

Jeremy huffed when he was back on his feet and readjusted his white lab coat and the satchel over his shoulder. Then he strode back over to the table Kidd was sitting at quickly. He coughed to clear his voice and then repeated. "I want to join your crew, Sir."

Kidd felt a small tick go off when he was called 'sir', but he let it slide this time and simply asked: "Why?"

"Because I want to see the world and learn its history through experience, not text," Jeremy explained simply.

It seemed like a logical reason for someone his age, but also background. Though, if there was more, Kidd really didn't want to hear it. _ Heh_, he liked this guy already: short and to the point. But still… "How old are you?" Kidd then questioned.

"I'm sixteen, Sir," Jeremy replied.

"Call me Sir again and I'll rip your head off," Kidd growled; it may have been a deep threat, but he didn't like the term. It was _Marine_ formal.

"Let's not rip heads off now…" Gregory spoke up nervously, stepping forward and grabbed his younger brother's shoulder protectively.

Though Jeremy ignored him and then shrugged off his older brother's hand. "I understand…Captain?" He said experimentally.

"Better," Kidd nodded, leaning back in his chair and then he continued. "You know that it's a dangerous place out there…"

"Yes, a _very_ dangerous place," Gregory cut in quickly.

"Oh, shut the _fuck_ up," Kidd barked at him, making Gregory slink down in his skin to hide. Then Kidd looked back to Jeremy for an answer.

"Well, Si—err—Captain, I mean, I may be no fighter…" He answered timidly, shifting back and forth on his heels when he saw he was proving Kidd's point. But then he grabbed his satchel and pulled out a thick folder and, due to seer weight, slammed it on the table. "I believe this will help you make your decision."

Kidd stared at the folder gushing with papers and then he looked up at the teen in confusion. "What's all _this?_" He questioned, jabbing a finger at the large file

"They are maps and notes on almost all the islands of the New World," Jeremy answered proudly.

In only a matter of seconds, the folder was taken apart by the hands of Kidd, Killer and Chamberlain, the three examining each and everything detail of the papers had to offer. The notes were paper clipped to the charts of each island, telling the story of how many people lived there, if they were dangerous or not, the weather of each one, and so much more. This was a valuable source of information, and Kidd felt like he could just steal this folder rather than bring the teen ago. But that plan back fired.

"There's more information, but it's not written down in the notes. I memorized them." Jeremy added, tapping the side of his head with a small, yet smug, smile.

Kidd really had to levy if taking the teen with him was a good idea, but after a few looks exchanged between his navigator and first mate, he knew the answer.

Though, Jeremy looked nervous about the silence and he blurted out some more valuable information. "I even have information on secret locations of Marines Bases."

"_Jeremy!_" Gregory gasped, covering his younger brother's mouth quickly and looked around nervously to see if anyone overheard. "Don't say that out loud! You could get _hanged!_"

"No," Kidd bluntly corrected. "He won't get hanged. I won't let that happen."

Jeremy's eyes lit up when he heard that and he ripped his older brother's hand from his mouth. "Does that mean…"

Kidd smirked. "Yes."

Jeremy grinned brightly. "Thank you, Sir! You won't regret this, I promise!"

Kidd's smile melted to an annoyed frown. This 'sir' thing looked like it was going to take some to get over, on Jeremy's part, which didn't necessarily make Kidd happy. But, to take his frustration out on someone else, other than his newest crew member, he looked to find something to bitch about, which turned out to be the lack of food.

He looked to a waitress walking by, the small woman cursing under her breath as she held a large tray with fortune cookies piled on it, and he shouted: "Where's our food!"

The waitress stopped and looked at him, then blinked her dark eyes before smiling, a forced smile that is. "The cooks are currently dueling with swords and fruit, so the food will be late," she relied with an undertone of annoyance and then she held out the tray. "Fortune cookie while you wait?"

"_Ohh!_" Gabriella finally said something, abandoning the baby bear for a moment to snatch a cookie from the tray. "I want one," and it seemed that since the summoner mage took one, then so did everyone else.

All the men at the table cracked open their fortunes, so getting good and bad ones. The men that got positive feedback taunted the ones with negative ones, but the harassed men would say that it was all fake. Though, that thought was turned upside down when Bedros's fortune said he was going to get laid that night. Only second after he read it aloud, a young attractive woman handed him a slip of paper with her number, saying she was ready for a bit of..._S&M_. That caused all the men to try and trade fortunes, especially with the stone devil.

Gabriella laughed at the crew's reaction as Kidd rolled his eyes at them and then her when she said that they got a batch of real, lucky and unlucky, fortunes. Then it was their turn to open their fortunes. So, sitting side by side, Kidd and Gabriella both cracked their cookies open to take the tiny slip of paper out.

Then they read what the fortune said, both of them going pale with fright when they saw the words, and said nothing about.


	65. Special: Happy Halloween!

Since Bones got one, then His Heir gets one, too. Though, I actually hate the Bones Halloween Special with a burning passion (I liked the idea at first, but when I look back at it, it seems stupid to me now) But away, this time around, I did and AU because when I do it in the OP world, some people get confused due to time line, so I did and AU so its not as confusing? Yeah, well, we'll see, right?

This is a bit of OoC Kidd, oh wait, you probably all knew that since I love to make Kidd OoC. :D

So, enjoy the fluffyness~

...If there is any.

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece, but this special with my OC are mine.

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><p>Special: Happy Halloween!<p>

The television flickered lightly due to the storm raging on outside the room, the tiny pelts of rain beating down on the window pane so that the music from the film was barely even heard. But that wasn't important.

His eyes were still glues to the images: the girl walking slowly down the hall to the bathroom in only a towel. She opened the door slowly, calling her lover's name, but finds him dead in the shower, his torso hanging over the broken glass of the sliding doors. His head beaten to a pulp with his blood staining the floor and mixing with steam from the hot water to give the fog a musty look. She screams in pure terror, freaking out at the sight of her dead partner and flees the room, dashing through the hall and to the stairs, flying down them until he reaches a door. It's locked, she's still screaming and starts to cry when it won't open.

Then an axe hurls through the wooden door, colliding with the girl's chest.

The screen flashed with crimson, the blood of the victim gushing out as the girl stumbled back on the ground, silent and unmoving.

"Stupid bitch," Kidd snorted before shoving another piece of chicken from the Chinese takeout box in his mouth.

It was true, the girl was stupid, but then again, all the bitches in this movie were stupid. Only a few could be considered smart; the ones that lived the deadly assault of the masked serial killer. He could probably count the women that lived in all the movies from the series on his hands. And there were allot of girls in the movies, which meant allot of stupid bitches.

But the stupid bitches aside, the movie was still a classic in his mind, which was why he loved Halloween and thought it was the best time of year. It was the night he could watch gory, spine chilling horror films without being called a freak for overly enjoying them. The best ones ever made being the Friday the Thirteenth series.

Jason was his fucking hero.

The killing machine that couldn't die and didn't care who his victim was and just slaughtered anyone he wanted. Senseless killing is what made a good horror film. And Halloween was just that time of year that gave him a legit reason to what the Friday the Thirteenth marathon all day.

So, with his order of Chinese in hand, Kidd sat cross legged on the couch of his apartment, ready to watch every bloody film with Jason in it. But he had no beer, he found it strange when he got water rather than beer from the fridge. Though, he would admit the sight of beer had made him queasy all of a sudden, which was weird just last weekend he was at a party and got totally wasted. Maybe his mind was telling him not to get drunk so he could all the movies until he could no longer keep his eyes open and pass out like a normal person rather than a drunk one.

It seemed like a good plan, but then that changed when he heard the clicks of heels from behind. He groaned, knowing exactly who is was and looked over his shoulder to see his girl friend walking out of their bedroom. And then half the piece of sweet and sour chicken in his mouth fell out when he saw her in her grey trench coat. That meant only one thing.

"I'm gettin' something kinky?" He asked with a sly smirk, his eyes traveling down to see the fishnet stockings covering her tanned legs and black pumps on her feet.

She looked at him oddly, her thin brow rising in confusion. "It's gonna be cold outside, so I'm wearing a coat," she answered, stuffing her hands deep within her pockets.

"Oh," Kidd grumbled irritably and then turned back to the movie, but then a question popped up and he looked at her quickly again. "And _where _are you going?"

"We're gonna go to Donavan's Halloween party," she replied simply.

Kidd stared at her. "_We?_" he stressed the word.

"Well," She huffed, rolling her golden eyes in annoyance. "Do you want me to go _alone_ to _Donavan's_ party?"

Once again, Kidd stared. "I'll get my coat."

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><p>She made a valid point: her going to Donavan's alone was a bad idea. But that didn't mean he was happy to go with her. He wanted to watch his Friday the Thirteenth marathon, but <em>no<em>, he couldn't because Donavan was a dick that just to bang his girl. Why was he still friends with this guy anyway? Who knows, but Kidd did know one thing: he was pissed.

Not about going to the fucking party and missing his marathon, but his girl friend was eating _his_ chicken.

She was holding the box of Chinese he brought with him so he could drive, and there she was, picking at his food; he paid for that, god damnit. "This is so good…" she mumbled, biting off tiny piece of the chicken.

"That's _mine_," he grumbled angrily, taking his rage out on the brake when he reached a red light.

She jerked forward at the force, almost choking on the food in her mouth. She then started to cough, making a small pang of guilt rise in Kidd's gut, and he patted her back, but maybe a bit more roughly then he should have. Though, she didn't seem to mind, she almost seemed appreciative of the gesture. He knew that because she tried to thank him by picking up a piece of chicken and placed half of it in her mouth, then she undid her seat belt and leaned in close to him, wanting him to take it.

"_Gabriella!_" Kidd snapped, trying to get her back in her seat; they had gotten into a bad accident only a year ago, earning their skin multiple life changing scars and she was trying to pull _this_ shit on him? _Hell no_. "Get back in your fuckin' seat!"

"It's a red light, Kidd," she murmured through the piece of meat between her teeth. "So, just take the piece of chicken."

"It can change any second!" Kidd countered with a scowl.

"Well, it hasn't yet." Gabriella responded calmly. "So take the chicken."

"For the love of…" he grumbled darkly, grabbing a fist full of her ginger hair and brought their mouths together, their lips brushing against one another as he bit half the chicken. But instead of staying in the position, like she wanted, he then shoved her back into her seat. Then he snatched the seatbelt buckle then strapped her in. "Don't _ever_ do that again," he muttered, his eyes going back onto the road just in time to see the red light turn green.

Gabriella sighed, slouching in her seat. "You need to get over that Kidd," she said gently, placing a hand on his thigh. "It was a year ago," then she looked at him. "Is that why you didn't want to go out because of the accident on Halloween last year?"

It finally dawned on him. The accident was exactly a year ago as of today. Maybe that's why he felt sick when he saw beer…

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><p>"I can't believe you wore those sweatpants and boots…" Gabriella grumbled, standing in the aisle of the small department store as she looked for things to make his 'costume' for the party.<p>

Kidd glanced down at his pants, gazing over the bright yellow with large black, oddly shaped spots on them. They were his favorite pair, and he had planned to wear them because of the movie marathon. But that plan changed, obviously. "So," he shrugged.

"And you even tucked your pants into our boots…" she continued, shaking her head as she examined brightly colored scarves. "You're lucky it's Halloween."

Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all."

Gabriella looked at him, her brow rising as she plucked a bright blue scarf from its hanger. Then she smirked, sliding her arms past the thick fur of his coat and then Kidd felt the scarf press against the bare skin of his back rather than her hands. Then, slinging the scarf around his hips and jerked him forward so their bodies collided. "Well, your shirtless chest is a turn on," she whispered seductively, grinding her hips against his.

Kidd chuckled and started to move his hips along with her. "You don't say…"

"Mommy, what are they doing?"

The voice of a child made them stop and looked over to see a small boy point at them as he pulled his mother's hand to get her attention. When the woman looked around, he cheeks turned a dark shade of red and she picked up her son, carrying the confused boy away. Kidd just blinked at the scene, shrugged and was about to go back to grinding, but Gabriella had stepped back. She coughed lightly into her fist and then turned around to a different rack filled with belts and picked one out to go with the scarf. Then grabbing his hand, she guided him further into the store until they reached the back where the restrooms were at. She must have needed to do 'girl' things, but when she didn't let go of his hand and was dragging him to the door, he dug his heels into the ground.

"What the _fuck?_" he hissed. "I ain't goin' in there!"

She stopped when he did and looked back at him. "It's ten a clock at night, Kidd. No one is here."

"Still doesn't mean I wanna go in there!" Kidd shouted back.

"I just need to do my make up," she explained simply.

"_I don't care!_" Kidd snapped.

Gabriella looked fed up with the argument and, with more strength than Kidd anticipated, she pushed him into the door. The metal swung open when his back rammed into it, but his reflexes caught on and his hand latched onto the frame, keeping him from falling over. He started to growl at her, but then he hissed when her hand grabbed a fist full between his thighs, her grip squeezing him to death, and not in a good way.

"_Let go,_" she ordered, her brows furrowing together.

"_No way,_" Kidd seethed.

Her response was a darker glare and tightening her grip.

Kidd hissed, but he managed to pull out a smirk between labored breathes. "Good thing I like it when you're rough," sometimes, but she didn't need to know that.

Then it was her turn to smirk. "Then we can stay like this," she purred mischievously.

Kidd ground his teeth together; he wanted her hand in his pants, not the other way around. But there was no way in hell he was going to go into the _girls'_ bathroom. So, he was going to tough it out until he could actually move and be the dominate one there, not her.

"Look, Mommy, she's touching him where she shouldn't!"

It was the same little boy with his mother, walking into the scene when they shouldn't have. The boy was pointing his finger at them frantically and pulling on the hem of his mother's shirt to get her attention again. The boy's mother turned around and looked, her face turning a darker shade of red than before and she hurriedly picked out her son and scurried away in embarrassment.

The out-of-the-blue moment make Kidd pause and watch, and sadly this gave Gabriella an opening to push him through the open doorway and into the bathroom. He tried to get out of there as fast as he could, but that bright blue scarf went around his hips once more and she pulled him back to her form.

"It will only be a few minutes," She whispered quietly as she took small steps back to guide him further into the forbidden space.

"Bitch," he grumbled darkly, finally giving in and let her do what she wanted, but she owed him for the next time he wanted to do something that she didn't.

Gabriella just rolled her eyes, waving the comment off as she went over to the sink and placed her monstrous purse on the counter. The thing was like Mary Popin's never ending bag, seriously; it had everything. Gabriella began pulling out tons of things she would need; the first being a pair of fake devil horns. He scoffed. How fitting. She place the headband in her hair, adjusting it until it looked the way she wanted it to and then she went back to her purse. She began pulling out new things for her make up, which was more Halloween based than just plain going out wear. There was charcoal colored eye shadow, bright crimson eyeliner and pitch black lipstick. She easily started the applying process, but Kidd noticed that she didn't even attempt to put on cover up; most girls did that first, right? Well, Gabriella didn't do it at all, which meant the scars on her cheek were out in the open for all to see.

That made him frown, the accident coming to mind.

He placed at hand to her cheek gently, his finger tips brushing against the damaged skin.

She glanced at him briefly then continued with her make up; she was used to him doing this when in the mood. It brought back bad memories for him.

Then Gabriella suddenly moved, snapping him away from his inner thoughts to watch her turn around and hop onto the counter. "Com'ere," she mumbled, hooking her fingers into the waistband of his pants to pull him in front of her, his hips between her thighs.

He would have thought he was getting a little _somethin'-somethin'_ because of the mood he was setting off and she wanted to make him feel better, but that wasn't the case. She tried to put the black lipstick on him. The somber mood was broken and his soft expression snapped to irritation. "_No!_" He barked, jerking his head away from the tube hovering over his lips.

"It's to go with your costume," she huffed, leaning in closer to him, but he moved away.

He grabbed her wrists in an attempt to stop her, but that only caused a struggle to breakout between them; over putting make up on him. Though, she had to play dirty by squeezing her thighs against his form and wrapping her legs fully around his hips. He growled when he felt pleasurable friction. "Little minx."

She smirked, leaning up to brush her lips against his. "Anything to make you obey."

Kidd scowled lightly at the comment, but he had to admit…he was attractive to heard her say that in such a sultry voice. A little bit of a turn on, and since no one was in the bathroom… He let got of her wrists and wrapped them around her back, pulling her even closer and started to lean forward to make her back arch. Seems like coming to the store a ten o'clock at night and going into the girls' bathroom wasn't so bad after all...

Correction: it wasn't.

The door opened.

As soon as he got her in his clutches to make out wildly, her back almost fully against the counter and everything set in place; if you get his drift, the door swung open. And lord and behold, it was the mother and son, _again_. Though, this time she didn't just blush and run away, she still blushed madly, but this time she screamed:

"_I'm calling security!_" and then she ran away with confused son in tow.

Kidd blinked, glancing at Gabriella who looked back at him just as blankly. "Does this store even _have_ security?"

Gabriella just shrugged.

* * *

><p>To avoid getting taken down by 'security', which Kidd guessed would be the cops, he allowed Gabriella do whatever she wanted to so they could hightail it out of there. Which meant her got an unhealthy dose of make up on his face; thick eyeliner around his eyes and black lipstick, and then the scarf tied around his waist like a sash and the belt buckled over that. It was an embarrassing, but when he got to the party, he saw that most of the men looked pretty stupid.<p>

Like Donavan.

"Hello, Miss Exotic Scarlet," Donavan purred sweetly when they walked through the door, looking like a knock off Dracula.

Kidd rolled his eyes at the other man, but then the thick scent of alcohol invaded Kidd's sense of smell. It made him shift uncomfortably, but this was the time to get over; it _had_ been a year.

"You look quite _lovely_ tonight," Donavan continued, winking at her and used the small lean in to try and get a peek down her jacket to see either her costume or chest, probably both.

"Yet I haven't even taken my jacket off…" She said, rolling her eyes as she undid the buttons of her trench coat and then slipped it off to reveal a very small red leather dress that was laced up the front to show of her exposed skin, the deep scars that were hidden by the jacket.

Kidd could only stare; when did she get _this_ in her arsenal of kinky dresses to arouse him? So, he stuttered: "Where'd to get_ that?_"

She looked up at him with a sly smile and winked. "It's a secret," she answered, sticking out her tongue as she handed her coat off to the nose bleeding Donavan. "Now, com'on," she giggled, grabbing his hand and pulled him further into the party.

Kidd would admit his mood brightened when he saw what her costume was, but when his senses ran into a wall of alcohol, it fell to a deep frown. He didn't want to be here, not with his mind remembering what exactly happened last year. But he could tough it out, right? It's not like he had to drink or anything. All he did was dance, but he his body was only in it half heartedly. He just wasn't in the mood to have fun because the stronger the scent of liquor came, the more he wanted to leave. Though, he stayed for Gabriella.

But when the sound of glass shattering entered his ears, and his mind created the sounds of wheels screeching on gravel and sirens. He stopped, his mind froze but his body moved. His arms wrapped around Gabriella, carrying her off outside to where it was safe.

"_Kidd!_" She snapped when he placed her back on her feet, her arms wrapping around her exposed form for warmth. "_It's freezing outside!_"

Kidd didn't answer her, he was too busy bending over and throwing up his stomach.

"_Kidd!_" Her voice held concern this time and she rushed to his side, rubbing his back in comfort. "What's wrong? Are you getting sick?"

"The smell made me sick…" Kidd replied weakly, hands on his knees to steady himself as he heaved in air.

"But you were completely fine at the party last weekend…" Gabriella then fell silent for a moment. "You are really _that_ upset about what happened last year…"

"It was my fault," he groaned in agony.

"Kidd…" Gabriella said gently. "It wasn't only your fault…it was mine, too."

"I was driving," Kidd answered emotionlessly.

Gabriella was silent again. "At least no one got hurt."

"You did," he corrected and looked at her from the corner of his eyes, his gaze falling on the dark scars that had her in the hospital for days.

"Not seriously," she countered, but he would beg to differ. "I only got scars," she added, but he had nothing else to say to that. She sighed at his silence and finally said: "Let's just go home. I'll drive."

* * *

><p>When home, Kidd felt better.<em> Much<em> better; there were still some lingering bad moods, but over all, he felt better, somehow. He never realized how much he hated today when he actually loved it; it was conflicting. Maybe it was just the '_partying_' aspect of Halloween that he hated. He didn't mind the kids ringing his doorbell all hours of the night for candy; he would usually scare them away, and, of course, he didn't mind the gory movies.

He got to finish his marathon at least, with Gabriella this time. She was curled up beside him, her back against his chest as they lied on the couch, watching the screen. Before they started though, she had changed into something more comfortable and then they cuddled under a large blanket for warmth to watch the movies. The marathon ended with the remake of the first Friday the Thirteen movie; it was almost over, which meant that it was time to hit the hay soon.

But then Gabriella spoke up for the first time since they got home. "Sorry that I ruined Halloween for you."

Kidd wasn't excepting that. It wasn't her fault; she hadn't known he would react that way, hell, not even he did. It was just something he didn't know would happen since he could enjoy beer a week ago, but on Halloween he couldn't. It was no big deal, the night really wasn't ruined. The party may have been a bad idea, but there were some things that happened tonight that could be laughed about in the future.

"Nah," he replied back, snuggling up closer to her form. "The night wasn't that bad; it had its funny parts. Like pissing off a mother and scarring her son with images of sex."

Gabriella whirled around, looking at him with wide eyes and squeaked: "_Kidd!_" and her cheeks turned pink, making him laugh at the rare expression.

That probably made the night.


	66. Chapter 64: A Special Place

Assassin's Creed has taken over my life. I just bought all four games (for 39 dollars instead of 114, I know, it's awesome) and I haven't been able to stop. But there is a problem. I suck at the game D:. I'm used to just watching people...

But anyway, I was still able to get this chapter done (obviously). :D

Son of Whitebeard: You have no idea how scary it will get (spoiler; if I can actually write horror, that is).

Guest: Jeremy's adjustments will be brought up in the next chapter, this one has to do with the crew's cutest members.

Alpenwolf: If you looked closely at the special, it actually has a pretty deep meaning (though I think Ameria has more problems with this since we are all stupid drunks unlike Europeans who know how to hold their shit down, just saying). And yes, Bedros got some action that night. :D

Disclaimer. I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 64: A Special Place<p>

Daniel sat in the corner of his bed, his knees pressed close to his chest and arms hugging them tightly as he held a deep scowl on his child features as he watched Gabriella fawn over the little brown bear. Daniel didn't like Benjamin the bear, at all. When he saw the bear with Gabriella, he felt a swarm of hate fill within his gut. The tiny brown bear was hogging all of Gabriella, making Daniel tick to the point where he actually wanted to shove the bear overboard.

The summoner mage focused all her attention on Benjamin ever since the bear became part of the crew. She would drool over him like the bear was the cutest thing in the world. Granted, Gabriella didn't do that with Daniel; it was more of a maternal affection he got from her. But ever since Benjamin came, she paid no heed to Daniel. And, most importantly, Benjamin didn't even appreciate that fact that Gabriella loved him to death.

Daniel wanted that attention again; Gabriella was like a mother to him since he lost his own.

She didn't look like his mother, but the attention that was given to him was just like his mother; protective, kind and loving. She would make sure he was safe before her self, seeing to it that he was hidden in his room or in the safety of the infirmary with Doc. Plus, she would sing to him. His mother used to always sing to him; when he was hurt and crying, before he went to bed, or just to sing for the sake of singing.

But ever since the baby bear came, Gabriella failed to show any of that to him.

The thoughts made his scowl darken as he continued to watch her kneel before the small bear blissfully, taking one of _his _red shirts and put it over Benjamin's head.

"There," she giggled sweetly, pulling at the hem of the tiny shirt to adjust it snuggly to the bear's round tummy. "Now you look just like Pooh Bear, Benjie." She said happily with a smile as she hooked her hands under the bear's arms to lift up so she could place a kiss to his furry cheek.

"But, dear lady, I believe the Winnie the Pooh was a stuffed animal bear that was a blondish color, not brown as I am." Benjamin replied, struggling to get away from her grasp.

"Oh, you're just to _cwute~_" she cooed lovingly, bringing him into a tight hug so there was a defined squeak between them, and then she stood up. "Let's go out on the deck, _hmm?_"

Daniel, when he heard that, jumped out of bed and hurried over to Gabriella with full intents of holding her hand for the walk out onto deck. But as soon as he was about to grab her hand, she quickly picked up the bear, holding him in her arms so she no longer had any free hands.

And then Daniel was left there in the room alone as Gabriella carried out the squirming brown bear.

* * *

><p>Daniel rolled over and over in his bed, groaning a moaning continually. He was being a bit loud, but he could be loud if he wanted to; Madeline wasn't in the room since she was on her 'midnight prowl' for Killer. So, he was as noisy as he wanted to be since he had a terrible stomach. His stomach had never hurt so much; he figured it might have been something he ate or that virus Doc had been talking about for awhile now. He hoped he wasn't sick though, he couldn't handle being sick with this kind of stomach ache. It felt like something was alive within his tummy making it cramp to the extreme as if his stomach was being squeezed to death by the fate of fate. The feeling was pure agony, making him cry out in pain, still hoping someone would come.<p>

If he was hurt, usually Gabriella was the first on the scene, but not today. She never came no matter how much he called out for her.

He knew he couldn't just sit there and hope someone would come; knowing this crew they wouldn't. So, against his better judgment, he got out of bed and went looking for Gabriella. He had trouble walking though, his feet barely leaving the ground as he dragged his heels across the floor of the halls. He held his stomach tightly, his small fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. His brow then started twitching violently, making his vision blurry since all he could think about was the pain as he got closer and closer to his destination.

And when at the door of her room, he knocked loudly, calling her name. "Gabriella!"

There was no reply.

"Gabriella!" He called again, his knocking turning into pounding, his rational mind completely forgetting about the deadly captain that could be on ther other side of the door. "Gabriella! Gabriella! _Gabriella!_" He cried, small tears collecting at the corner of his eyes, both from the pain and being ignored by someone so important to him.

"Daniel?"

His name was called, making Daniel quickly turn his head away from the speaker to wipe his eyes hurriedly. He couldn't let _him_ see the tears forming.

"What are you doing?" Killer then asked, walking up beside him and looked down at him and tilted his head masked head questionably.

"I—I'm looking for Gabriella…" Daniel answered weakly, trying his best to make it look like there was no pain and he was completely normal.

Killer had been teaching him how to fight for a few months now. Though it wasn't just daggers, but also the masked blonde told some…life lessons, too. The biggest lesson the masked blonde told him was to never show weakness. Weakness was okay to have, but when it was shown to the enemy, it could be used against you. And if weakness was used against you, you had to fight harder to win and over come fears that come along with weakness. Granted, this wasn't a fight, but Daniel sure a hell was scared he was going to lose Gabriella again.

He didn't want to lose his Mommy again…

But, he didn't want Killer to see he was upset and wanted to show the masked blonde that he was trying to take the lessons to heart.

"Hmm," Killer hummed, stepping closer to the door and knocked swiftly with the back of his knuckles.

There was no reply again.

So then, the masked blonde placed an ear to the door, listening on what was on the other side. When Killer deemed that it was safe, he grabbed the doorknob and cracked open the door, sneaking a peek inside. "No one's there," Killer finally answered as he closed the door slowly.

"…" Daniel looked down at his feet, feeling abandoned by the fact that Gabriella wasn't in her room. He knew she was with that stupid bear again.

"What seems to be the problem?" Killer continued to question.

"I—I don't feel good…" Daniel responded quietly, wincing when he felt a cramp tighten suddenly within his stomach.

"I see," Killer said slowly, examining the boy for a moment. "Then I'll take you to Doc," He added and then he turned on the heel of his foot, heading towards the infirmary.

Daniel tried his best to follow after the masked blonde quickly, but he found that it was rather difficult. He was lagging behind Killer quickly unable to keep up with the face pace. If he hadn't been sick then keeping up would be no probably, but now that he was, it was just tiring and he didn't want to walk anymore.

Killer noticed that Daniel fell behind and he had to stop every now and then for him to caught up. But then the masked blonde got tired of stopping ever five minutes and he turned around completely. He sighed, shook his head and then hooked his hands under Daniel's arms and picked up the boy so he could carry him to the infirmary. "Better not throw up on me," Killer grumbled grimly, holding Daniel's small body stiffly since the situation was rather foreign to him.

"…" Daniel didn't want to say anything; he didn't want to be more of a burden than he already was.

Once at the infirmary, Killer placed Daniel on of the many cots in the room and then went to wake up Doc. Doc was resting in the back room, which was considered to be the doctor's room. So, the masked blonde dragged the doctor from one room to another and then ordered Doc to look at Daniel.

After grumpily cursing to himself, Doc did as he was told and looked Daniel over, saying that he had a bad case of the stomach flu that had been going around. That thought made Daniel go even paler than he already was; he didn't want to be sick like this when Gabriella wasn't there with him. But, there was nothing that could be done about the summoner mage, so Doc simply gave him medicine to treat the symptoms of the virus. He said it would take a few hours to kick in, so sleep would be the next best thing to do. Since the illness was contagious, Doc that the boy would stay in the infirmary, but Daniel didn't want to be alone.

Doc had already left to his quarter's again to finish his sleeping, so before Killer could leave too, Daniel stopped him by grabbing the hem of the masked blonde's shirt. "Don't go…"

Killer stopped and looked down at him, his expression hidden by his mask. He was silent for a moment, like he was turning the thought over and over within his mind. Then he finally said: "Only until you go to sleep."

Daniel smiled weakly at that, happy that he would be with someone during his pain for awhile, but he would admit it wasn't the same.

A mother would spend the whole night at his side.

* * *

><p>After two days of being in solitary confinement; Daniel was finally able to leave the infirmary. He stomach still ached, but not as bad as he had that first night. Also, he was deemed no longer contagious, so Doc figuratively kicked him out. Now, Daniel was left to walk around the halls of the ship with a bitter feeling left in his mouth.<p>

Gabriella hadn't seen him at all when he was in the infirmary. Not once, and Daniel knew why.

It was because of _that_ bear. _That_ stupid bear was stealing her away.

Oh, if he got his hands on him…

"_Oof._"

There was something small that ran into him, making him stumble backwards. He was so deep in bitter thought that he wasn't paying attention to anything, but he wished he had. Because he just bumped into the bear.

"Pardon me, Daniel," Benjamin the bear apologized politely, smiling friendly up at the boy as he dusted off his red shirt.

Daniel didn't care how nice the bear acted; he still didn't like him. So, upon instinct, Daniel pushed the bear away roughly with a glare on his features.

Benjamin's button eyes opened wide with shock as he was knocked over, landing on his rump. "I say…" he started to say slowly as he stood back up. "What was that for? I believe I have done nothing to you."

"You _stole_ her," Daniel bluntly stated.

Benjamin stared at him in confusion. "Stole who from you?"

"Gabriella," Daniel hissed, his hands forming into tight fists at his sides. "_You stole her from me!_"

Benjamin continued to look at him in confusion, but then something dawned in his button eyes. "Ah, I see now, you are jealous of the affection she has been showing me for the past few weeks. She is like a mother to you, correct? Well, I can assure you that there is a difference between the love she gives to you and me. I am a mere bear whereas you are a boy."

"It doesn't feel that way," Daniel spat bitterly.

"Well then, did you even talk to her about how you have been feeling?" The bear then asked.

And the building rage in his gut simmered down slowly. No, he hadn't made an attempt, or at least a good one, to try and talk to Gabriella.

Benjamin then sighed and shook his furry head when he saw the look on Daniel's face. "Come on," he said and grabbed the boy's hand with his tiny paw. "She is in her room now. You should be able to talk to her," and then the bear guided him to the door.

Daniel looked up at it nervously, almost dreading the reaction of Gabriella when he talked to her, but Benjamin nudged him forward. Looking over his shoulder, Daniel saw that the bear had a reassuring smile on his features, but that didn't help. Though, with enough tiny jabs in the back, Daniel finally knocked on the door.

"_Come in,_" it was Gabriella.

So, slowly, Daniel opened door, peeking his head around the edge to see the summoner mage sitting on the bed, but he also saw the deadly captain sitting at the desk across the room. Daniel was tempted just to bail out and wait for a day when Gabriella was alone, but Benjamin wouldn't hear it. The bear pushed him in and then the door was shut behind him.

Daniel was left in the room with all eyes on him. He looked down at his toes to avoid the stares, mostly from the captain, and timidly asked. "Ca—can I talk to you…?"

"Of course, honey," Gabriella answered gently.

Looking up slightly, Daniel shuffled over to the bedside and started to say. "D—do…" He couldn't form the words, his cheeks turning a bright red since the captain was glaring at the back of his head. Daniel just knew he was.

"What is it?" Gabriella questioned softly, leaning over the edge of the bed so she could hear him better through his mumbling.

Then he finally blurted it out. "Do you love me?" and looked up at her, seeing her golden eyes go wide.

There was silence

"Did he—" Kidd then started to say, but Gabriella stopped him.

Her shocked look turned to an angry one and she snatched a pillow from the bed and chucked it at the captain, a signal from him to shut up. Then she turned back to Daniel with a softer expression, but there was still a bit of confusion in her look. "Why do you ask that?"

"Be—because you have been with Benjamin for weeks and you haven't paid any attention to me…" he explained, feeling a rush of emotions come over him and his eyes started to water. He took a moment to wipe them, but it didn't help, so he continued to talk through the tears. "You didn't even know I was sick for the past two days…"

"You were sick…?" Gabriella repeated slowly.

Daniel nodded, sniffling loudly as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "I—I had the stomach flu."

The look on Gabriella's face turned pale; she almost looked like she was panicking on the inside and she quickly leaned over, hooking her hands under his arms and hoisted him on the bed with her. She then placed him in her lap, wrapping her arms around his tiny form tightly. "I'm so sorry, honey," she murmured softly into his ear, hugging him protectively "I really am… I didn't mean to hurt you at all. You are very important to me and I do love you. You are my little boy," she told him lovingly in a gently tone as she wiped the tears away from his cheek.

Daniel hiccuped, curling up in a tight ball in her lap. He didn't know what to say, but the first thing that came out was: "Can I spend the night with you."

That's when Kidd cut in. "N—"

Gabriella then cut him off by throwing another pillow at his form across the room then added a dark scowl. When Kidd shut up, she turned back to Daniel. "Of course," she answered with a small smile.

Daniel felt much better now; maybe Benjamin the bear wasn't so bad after all. The bear had good advice, that was for sure, and also, Daniel got to spend time with Gabriella now. She hummed to him softly, swaying to and fro to rock him to sleep, and he was about to fall asleep until the ring of a den-den mushi on the desk woke him up.

Gabriella, having ran out of pillows, improvised and threw the alarm clock on the nightstand at Kidd this time.

Luckily, the metal object hit the back of the wooden chair rather than the captain, but he was still pissed all the same. "_What?_" He hissed into the phone. As he was being spoken to, the dark look on his face turned into a curious one. "Really…" he then said in thought, standing up slowly from the sit, but still bent over the desk. "Give me the coordinates for Chamberlain," he ordered, pausing briefly to write the numbers down on a spare piece of paper. Then he hung up the phone and started to head for the door.

"What's going on, Kidd?" Gabriella then spoke up, calling after him, but it was too late.

Kidd was already rushing down the hall to find the navigator at his post.


	67. Chapter 65: The Tops, Whistles, & Rings

**Assassin's Creed is still taking over my life, which means this chapter may be a little...weak (filled with grammar errors). It's pretty much filler and humor (if you haven't read Bones, you may not get the joke...).**

Trafalgar Riley: The two of them are a cwute pair. :)

Girl-luvs-manga: Thank you. :)

Aplenwolf: I have been obessed with Assassin's Creed, like for two weeks now and it won't go away...I even thought of idea for stories...but I won't start them now due to Bones and His Heir, but I will probably do 'teaser' one shots.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Benji and Dannie will be more friends now, they are the cute pair that makes even the strongest of men stare at them in adorableness! Then Dannie uses his awesome daggers skills to cut a bitch. :3

Sakura: I did not know that...I thought Kidd was closer to 27...but the change in age actually makes me happy, because that means I can change Gabriella's age too, for a certain reason. Though, not too happy with Law's age since I thought he was younger, so in Bones he will continue to be 23 rather than 26. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 65: All the Tops, Whistles and Rings<p>

It was an odd piece of land; shaped out of nothing but old ships. There were all kinds of ships crumbled together to make a massive piece of island, some Kidd hadn't even seen before, not even in books. He wondered briefly where they all came from, but the wooden ships really mean nothing to him since the island had more secrets within. The wooden ships on the outside were merely a shell; underneath that coat was a vast metal labyrinth.

Kidd examined the entrance that went deeper into the island, scanning the area for hidden dangerous. Apparently there were traps littered a bout the area, Donavan's and Token's crew found that out first hand. Some of the pirates from the two crews were currently in the infirmaries on ships, battling for life and death because of poisonous darts or drinking lots of liquor to sooth the pain for broken limbs. Though, Kidd thought it was karma for the men, not because of their douche-bag captains, but because of what they stupidly did.

_It was only a small prank_, the two idiot said.

Kidd scoffed at the thought; you don't play a prank on a Pirate Emperor. Who puts a stink bomb in a bag of candy, anyway?

He shook the question from his mind and returned to inspecting the hidden lair. Since Donavan's and Token's crew took out most of the traps at the beginning, Owen and his men were able to explore further, finding a small remote that seemed to control the traps. It was a valuable find.

Kidd looked down at that the remote with a series of different buttons that had the numbers zero to nine on it, plus two more that were red and green. Even though he had the remote in hand, he had no idea how to use it, which left him to turn to only one person: Jeremy.

Kidd had already told Killer to retrieve the teen from the ship, so he was just standing there wait.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

Kidd winced at the title. "Captain," he corrected through grinding teeth.

"Ah, yes, sorry Captain," Jeremy nervously replied as he walked up beside Kidd, scratching the back of his head. "So, what seems to be the trouble?"

"Tell me about this island," Kidd ordered; Jeremy was sure to know something, maybe even about how the remote worked

"Well…there isn't anything on this island…" Jeremy slowly answered, making Kidd glare in return. The teen coughed nervously into his fist, feeling the pressure, but he was able to continue. "I believe that we stumbled upon a _man-made_ island. There were a few made in the past, for Marine based purposes for either hiding, waiting, or protecting something of vale from pirates, of course."

"That would make sense," Owen cut in from the side, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. "This place is confusing enough, plus traps. The Marines making this as some sort of bunker would prove valuable."

"Hmm…" Kidd hummed, placing a hand to his chin in thought. "Interesting…so, this is a man-made island, which would mean that there is no way a log post could lock onto it, right?" He looked to Jeremy for clarification.

"Precisely," The teen nodded in reply.

"Heh," Kidd grinned devilishly, glancing towards Owen with a mischievous look in his eyes as he said: "Seems like this will make a pretty good hideout, eh?"

And Owen smirked in returned. "I do believe so, Boss."

* * *

><p>Gabriella leaned against the wall of the hallway as she sat between Benjamin the bear and Daniel. The boy was fast asleep and using her arm as a pillow whereas the bear was sitting quietly beside her reading one of Kidd's many astronomy books. The bear though, had commented on the fact that she hadn't hugged him at all day, but she merely shrugged.<p>

She had been somewhat out of it every since she got that…fortune. Like with little Daniel; she didn't mean to ignore him, but since that fortune came…she used Benjamin to take her mind off of things, plus she loved bears. Though, after she saw how if affected Daniel, she lightened up on the love and tried to balance it. But still, even if Benjamin wasn't there or Daniel didn't get upset, she would have been out of it; all because of the fortune.

Usually those things weren't supposed to be real, but this one…it seemed too detailed to even be close to being fake. Truthfully, the fortune didn't bother her, what bothered her was what Kidd would say. He wouldn't like it, that's why she refused to tell him. So instead, she also went out of her way to make sure that the fortune didn't happen. Though, Kidd was bound to get upset about _that _sooner or later. He didn't notice it now because he was busy with the hideout, also some plans to form alliances, but after that was done he'd get upset extremely fast.

She sighed. She debated over just telling him now. Get it over with so they could move on and deal with the 'problem' so it didn't happen, so except that it would come and live with it. In reality, she wanted something like this to happen, but she was sure that Kidd would be against it for multiple reasons.

Well, he really had no say in that matter if she looked at the issue closely. It was either he got what he wanted and something happened or he didn't get what he wanted and nothing happened. Gabriella was okay with both options, but Kidd would be the one that was conflicted.

So, maybe now would be the best time, just so he could think about it.

With the plan in mind, she slowly got up and scooped Daniel up in her arms. The boy jolted from sleep when he was suddenly moved, but then he instantly fell back asleep, resting his head against her shoulder. "Come on, Benji," Gabriella called to the bear.

Benjamin closed his book and then got up, dusting off his form of dust and then tucked the book under his arm, ready to follow her.

Adjusting Daniel more comfortable against her chest, she started to make her way to the boy's room. Luckily, the hideout was big enough for his to have his own space, rather than sharing with Madeline. Killer also seemed to appreciate it since he didn't have to always knock on a door that had Madeline behind it.

Once in the boy's room, Gabriella placed Daniel's sleeping form on his bed and then tucked him in. Kissing him on the forehead, she then turned to Benjamin, the bear now situated in a cozy chair so he could read his book again. She patted him on the head with a smile before leaving and started towards Kidd's chambers.

In the way, she thought about what she would say, or if she would just show him the fortune and allow him to decide it meaning, though it seemed frightfully clear what it was. Still, Kidd could consider it all stupid, rip it to shreds and live life the way he had before. In a way, she hoped he did that, but then again…she hoped he took it seriously, too…

With the conflict turning over and over in her mind, her senses started to tune out, but when she heard the faint snap of a wire in the background, she jerked her mind back to reality just in time to dodge a guillotine blade that rained down from the ceiling.

She stood there in shock, seeing her reflection gleam in the blade and her heart nearly jumped out of her throat; she almost _died_. If she hadn't hurt that wire, she would have _died_ right then and there. The feeling was unsettling, yet it was strange since she had seen the face of death many times, but that fortune came to mind again…

Her eyes opened wide and on instinct she used her magic to teleport quickly to Kidd. As she left the golden glow of the vortex, she latched onto the strong arm of her lover, feeling her body shake from almost walking into a blade that would slice her down the middle.

"Wha—" Kidd started to shout, his body rigid with alarm.

"A blade almost cut me down!" She cried, burying her face to the fur of his coat.

When she said that, Kidd reacted oddly. He should have gotten angry, but instead he dropped the remote in his hand and backed away from the object on the floor.

She looked between him and the remote, her brows furrowing together. "That…was _you?_"

"I—I—" Kidd was at a loss of words and he avoided all eye contact, knowing that he was the culprit.

She felt an angry tick form through her panicked state, feeling almost stupid that she didn't see it sooner. Kidd had been able to figure out how to turn on and off the traps within the hideout, and he must have been experimenting. Though, he probably didn't know that she was there, but still, someone, like herself, could have died.

At that moment, she didn't feel like talking to him; and with a twist of her heel, she left the room in a huff.

"Wait, babe!" Kidd called after her, catching up swiftly. "I didn't mean to do that!"

"I know," Gabriella replied, never stopping in her angry stride with her head held high.

"Then why are you mad at me?" Kidd questioned, grabbing her hand to try and make her stop and look at him.

"Because I had something important to tell you and respond by trying to cut me in two!" she snapped, ripping her grip from his hand and stormed over while crossing her arms over his chest.

Though with her hands hidden from sight, this didn't stop Kidd from grabbing her, for this time her wrapped his arms around her stomach and lifted her from the ground. "That can't be my response since I don't even know what you were going to ask." Kidd countered. "So tell me, what's on your mind?"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," she droned. "Now, let. Me. _Go!_" she then shouted, struggling wildly to escape from his arms, but no matter how much she kicked her legs, she couldn't land a hit on him. But she did kick a light that was hanging from the wall.

_Click_, it went, making her pause at the odd sound.

But the next thing she knew, she and Kidd were free falling into the unknown.

She, at least, had a cushiony fall, unlike Kidd who groaned in pain. Looking up, she saw that she and Kidd had fallen through a trap door. That made her sigh, Kidd must have left the remote on, which meant that not only her, but everyone in the hideout was in danger. Including Benjamin and Daniel; that made her panic.

What if Daniel woke up and went looking for her, and Benjamin went with him?

Jumping up quickly at the thought, she used her magic to make a portal so that the remote plopped in her hand and then she shoved it in Kidd's face. "Turn it off."

Kidd groaned, sitting up slowly while rubbing the back of his head. "It is off…I turned it off when you told me you almost got killed."

Gabriella blinked. "Then how did we get down here."

"Must not be programmed to the remote," Kidd guessed, shrugging his shoulder. "So, let's just teleport up or we can explore. Jeremy did say that there could be something of value here…"

Gabriella stared at him in confusion. "Explore? Explore _what?_"

"That," Kidd pointed to a dark hallway behind her.

Since she knew that her babied were safe, a little exploring wouldn't hurt…yet she didn't really what to right now. "Well…"

"Oh, come on!" Kidd moaned, throwing his head back in annoyance. "I know you're pissed, but let's just find an isolated corner and get straight to the make up sex."

Gabriella stared blankly at him. "Or we can just look around," she corrected, getting off his chest and dusted off her pants.

"And have sex," Kidd added with a smirk.

Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, turning away and started on the journey without him, using her magic to make small orbs for light to see in the dark space.

"Be a kill joy, why don'tcha," Kidd grumbled, getting up quickly to follow her.

She scoffed in response; he showed no shame of being horny. And he didn't only use words show it, but also his actions. It was like he was trying to coax her into it by feeling her up. Running his fingers through her hair so his fingertips touched the bare skin on her back, and she would quicken her pace to avoid it. But then he could match her speed, leaning over to whisper 'sweet' nothings in her ear that would make her push him away. Though he retaliated by grabbing her wrist gently with his mechanical hand to pull her closer to his form, but instead of stealing a kiss, he smacked her ass, his hand lingering there as he smirked jeeringly down at her.

Both would have made her mad because she didn't want to be around him like this; but maybe the kiss would have slipped… She shook the thought from mind, _no_; she had to hold her ground. So, she whipped around, pushed him away and then continued on her way.

"What is up with you?" Kidd barked angrily, his fusing running low. "You have been so confusing first you want to talk, and then you don't. Then you want to be close, and then you don't. Make you your mind, woman!"

Gabriella felt her brow twitch with irritation and she turned to him again, saying: "I want to be alone right now, so why don't _you leave!_" She snapped back bitterly, placing her hands to his chest and shoved him violently away.

Kidd grunted in shock, stumbling backward into the wall behind, but then that wall gave out surprisingly, making him fall back.

To upset with the way he was acting, disrespecting her wishes was more like it though, she huffed and stepped over his form into the newly found chamber, seeing and wooden box on a pedestal that had a spotlight from above. This must have been the 'valuable' treasure left behind, but it seemed too…staged to be something of the Marines…

Though she cast the thought aside and looked closer at the box, seeing that there was a letter on top. Tilting her head to the side in confusion, she slowly reached out for it and opened it, scanning the words, which made her brows furrow together in greater confusion.

"What's it say?" Kidd questioned from behind, looking over her shoulder to get a look, but the lighting was too dim for him to read properly.

So, Gabriella read aloud.

_Dear Participants,_

_If you are reading this, that means you found the treasure! Congratulations! With the completion of my first Fun House, I decided that I would make a new one in the honor of my dear wife. Though, the treasure is different, it still has the same value. I hope you couples will enjoy! And if you are not a couple, well then, this will be very awkward for you._

_Sincerely,_

_The Madman_

"What the fuck…" Kidd mumbled, gently pushing Gabriella to the side and stepped opened the wooden box. He stared at what was inside for a moment and then he gingerly picked up the two gold rings between his fingers. "What the fuck are theses?"

Gabriella looked between the letter and the rings multiple times, but then her eyes opened wide and she looked at Kidd. "They're wedding rings…"

Kidd's jaw hung open and his face turned white. Then he dropped the two rings like they were hot coal and jumped away from the two small bands on the ground. "That's fucked up!"

And at that, Gabriella frowned in disappointment.

* * *

><p>Matrimony, anyone?<p> 


	68. Chapter 66: Elderly Advice

wesomesness: That was the point, you aren't being told the fortune, you will have to figure it out through hints I give you through the story. It will make more sense along the way.

Emz: Update it here, and thank you.

Son of Whitebeard: Probably.

Hisoshirezu Ryu: The fortune won't be said out in the open, it's something that will be slowly shown as time goes on.

Alpenwolf: Marriage for Kidd would probably be too...sissy for him, but he can do love. If Roger had a girlfriend that he loved, the Kidd can, too. :p

Girl-luvs-manga: Oh, you have no idea.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 66: Elderly Advice<p>

Food was the last thing on her mind. She slouched in her seat with an elbow propped up on the table top to cradle her cheek as she poked at the arrays of different meats and vegetables with a fork on her plate with a frown. She sighed deeply, looking up to see the slimy face of Donavan staring right back at her. He had tried talking to her when dinner had started, but she ignored him. Though, brushing off Donavan's existence never worked, _ever_. He would stay planted like a potted fern within her presence until he was acknowledge by either a slap and nasty remark, both creepily turning him on.

"Why so glum, little miss Scarlet?" he purred when he saw her look up at him.

She didn't give him the satisfaction of speaking and turned her attention to the other pirates around the dinning area of the hideout. Block, the massive pirate captain that looked like a rock golem was drunkenly swing around in circles, causing those around him, including tables, to jump with each step he took. The pirate captain may have been strong beyond belief, but he could not hold his liquor; one little sip of beer seemed to throw him into a tipsy mood. It drove Kidd insane, which is why the red head along with Owen were trying to calm the large boulder of a man. But they were failing miserably at it since a stomp from Block sent Bedros clear across the room. The stone devil slid over a table filled with plates of half eaten food, empty pints of beer and tiny shot glasses, and then Bedros rammed into the wall head first.

That was when everyone chipped in to try and stop Block, but when the grown man was drunk, he turned back into a child. So, he had a tantrum, going to the ground on his back and started to frail his legs and arms wildly while screaming _no, no, no_. Between Donavan's slimy sneer and the noise in the background, Gabriella had had enough.

She stood up suddenly and then turned on the heel of her foot to leave the room. In the background, she heard the clamper of a seat move and she knew Donavan was on her heels, but then that was stopped.

"_**Donavan you fuckin' prick!**_" Kidd roared loudly over the wailing of a fuzzy Block. "_**Get your ass over here and help!**_"

"_A—aye, Boss!_" Donavan yelled back and scampered off.

Gabriella didn't even bother to look behind her and continued walking out of the dinning area. The further she got away from the area, the quieter it grew until there was nothing but a buzz in her ears. She went straight to bed, curling in a tight ball under the covers and tired to go to sleep, but that wish was denied.

The door shot open, hitting the wall behind it. "_Gabriella,_" it was Kidd, and she heard the loud stomps of his boots as he walked over to the bed.

Gabriella didn't bother answering him; she knew he was mad just by the way he spoke to her. He was probably upset about how she left the dinning area without even trying to lift a finger to stop Block from destroying the hideout. In truth, why should she care when he acted the way he did towards her; always being horny or thinking that sex fixes everything. That plan of his can only go so far until she reaches a limit, which she so happen to reach when she got that fortune and also the whole situation that led to them finding wedding rings.

So, she ignored him, knowing very well how his approach to the situation was going to be.

"What is up with you?" He asked sternly, grabbing her shoulder and shook it violently.

She scoffed, shrugging his hand off roughly and then rolled away from him while pulling the blankets over her form even more.

He sighed thickly in annoyance and there was the distinct sound of his palm. "Are you mad are me, god damnit."

"Maybe," she murmured mockingly.

"And what did _I_ do?" Kidd then snapped, grabbing her shoulder again and forcible rolled her towards him so she could see the dark scowl in his eyes. "Why are _you_ mad at_ me?_ What the _fuck_ did _I_ do?"

"Oh, so _now_ you want to talk about the problem instead of having sex," she spat bitterly, returning her own dark glare.

He stared at her in heated confusion. "W—what the_ fuck?_ You never got upset at that before, why now?"

"You may feel like talking like a normal couple now, but I'm not in the mood," she huffed, forcing herself to roll away from him again. "So, try again later."

That caused Kidd to go into a fit. "I think 'later' is right now," he growled and ripped the blankets from right off of her and grabbed her roughly with his hands to get her to look at him.

"_NO!_" She screeched, struggling against him like a mad woman.

It was war. He grabbed at her, his finger nails biting into her skin; she clawed at him, her long nails leaving red marks along his pale skin. Neither of them would give up on winning the pity argument that had only to do with talking. In truth, it was sad, but if you were in Gabriella's position with a fortune like _that_, then you would be a little upset, too. Well, wary of the outcomes would be more likely since Kidd would probably maroon her on some island if she had told him. It was clear Kidd couldn't handle the idea even without hearing it.

That brought a sudden furious rise out of her when she thought of that, making her shove the heel of her foot to his chest.

Kidd gasped as he stumbled backward, holding his gut in pain. He closed his eyes tightly, his brow twitching to the rhythm of agony, but by the time he looked up to scream at her, she was gone.

She used her magic to teleport to the only place she knew she would be safe: Anna's room.

Owen's wife was sitting at her vanity, removing the make up she had on for the day so she was ready for bed. When the captain's wife saw the summoner mage sitting in the hidden place between the make up desk and wardrobe, she furrowed her brows in confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, but Owen's voice came out instead.

"Is that…Gabriella over there?" The pirate captain questioned, looking away from his book so he could squint at her form in the darkness from his bed.

"I'm hiding from Kidd," Gabriella answered quietly.

"Hmm," Anna hummed, returning to her removable make up process. "You didn't see anything, Owen," she then said to her husband.

"Yes, dear," and Owen returned to reading his book by candle light.

Gabriella knew that this was going to be a safe place from Kidd that is until he started pounding on the door and then opened it even without the consent of the older couple inside.

Anna scowled at him deadly and threw the first thing she could as Kidd, which turned out to be a glass bottle of perfume. Kidd started to choke on the fumes, is eyes watering as he held his throat in pain. Anna huffed with a smirk, satisfied with the outcome.

"G—" Kidd wheezed. "G—Gabriella's gone…"

"I haven't seen her," Anna scoffed as she sneaked a glance at her husband in the mirror, giving him a warning glare, and Owen was silent. "Though, why don't you go help him look for her, Owen?"

"Yes, dear," Owen quickly replied, getting out of bed and hurried to the door. "Let's go, Boss," he said, pushing a confused Kidd out of the room then shut the door behind him.

Anna then got up and went to the door, locking it tightly. Then she went back to Gabriella and sat on the floor in front of her. "What did he do to you?"

Gabriella was silent for a moment to collect her thoughts, and then answered with: "It's a long story," as she pulled her legs close to her chest.

"I see," Anna answered. "He was a dick to you, right?"

"Feels like it," Gabriella grumbled.

"And why was he a dick, besides the obvious reasons," Anna then asked.

"It's a long story," Gabriella repeated.

Anna sighed, shaking her head slightly. "I can't help if you don't talk to me."

Gabriella stared at the older woman for a moment; did Anna just say she was going to help her? It was strange, but Gabriella felt like talking to an older woman would be helpful; it could almost be said that she was talking to a mother figure which she needed desperately. "You promise you won't tell anyone…"

Anna smiled softly, and it was the first time Gabriella ever saw the older woman smile before. "I promise."

And with the reassurance; Gabriella told her story.

* * *

><p>"Boss…you need to slow down and calm down," Owen advised. "You won't find her this way."<p>

"You don't understand," Kidd bit out.

"I understand she's mad at you and you obviously don't understand why," Owen bluntly stated.

Kidd stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to the older man. "How do you know that…?"

"I have a wife," was all Owen said.

"Ah…" Kidd nodded. "So…what do you do when Anna's pissed off at you and you don't know why?"

"I let her vent," Owen answered shortly.

Kidd pressed his lines in a thin line. "What if she doesn't want to talk about it?"

"Then I wait until she wants to talk about it." Owen replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I give her space, go about my daily life and if something I do hits a nerve and then usually she breaks down and tells me what's wrong."

Kidd was silent, taking in the advice of the older man, but then something else came to mind. "What if she tells you she doesn't like…something?"

Owen looked curious of what Kidd had actually done, but the man didn't pry. "Well, I believe that it's not the root of the problem. It probably still is a problem, but not the real situation."

"So, I'm still in the dark, aren't I?" Kidd sighed, his shoulders drooping.

"Probably," Owen responded.

"And I just have to sit and wait?" Kidd questioned. "But I don't want her to get even madder at me if I ignore her! She might pin that as I don't care!"

"Then ask her once in a calm tone, what's wrong and no matter the answer, ask if she wants to talk about it." Owen suggested. "Even if she says nothing's wrong, you know that something is wrong."

"Will that work?" Kidd questioned skeptically.

"If you don't constantly ask her that of all hours and just every couple of days, then yeah, you should be fine," Owen answered.

Kidd nodded slowly, still unsure if it would work, but Owen had been married to Anna for years. And if this worked on a bitch like Anna than it would work on Gabriella, who was only a bitch rarely. So, upon Owen's advice, he went back to his room to wait for Gabriella's return.

* * *

><p>"…and th—that's why I'm upset," Gabriella sniffed, feeling extremely stupid that she started crying. It shouldn't have made her cry, but she was so pessimistic on the whole issue that she couldn't take it anymore. All she wanted was Kidd to care, but she felt like he didn't.<p>

Anna was silent and listened carefully to the whole thing; she didn't even interrupt when Gabriella said something of Kidd, or even mentioned his name since that caused the woman to flare up with rage. "I may hate that fucking ginger with a passion, but I don't think he'd do something like that," Anna then said calmly.

Gabriella thought that Anna would have been bias and said Kidd would, but knowing that Anna would somewhat put aside her hate and say that made her feel a bit better, but; "But what do I do?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back for her hand.

"Wait until you're ready to confront him," Anna advised. "If he loves you, then he'll wait."

Gabriella nodded silently. "What do I do now…?"

Anna placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go to you room so I can get some fuckin' sleep."

* * *

><p>When he got back to his room, Kidd saw that she was back in bed. He restrained himself from overreacting and walked calmly over to the bedside. He 'ignored' her for a moment, taking off his coat, goggles and boots before rolling into bed with them. There was silence and then Kidd started to speak. "What's wrong?"<p>

Gabriella was silent.

And no matter the answer, silence or not, he then asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she finally replied.

"Well…" Kidd started to say, but then paused, wondering if it was a good idea to say this, but he did anyway; it didn't seem that bad. "Well, when you want to talk about it. I'm here for you, you know that." He wasn't expecting a reply, but she did.

She rolled over to him, curling up to his bare back so her fingers clung to him gently. "Do you love me?"

Kidd then rolled over, looking down at her in confusion; didn't they already go through this? "Of course I do."

"So, you'll love me no matter what?" She asked, burying her head to his chest.

Kidd was growing more confused at the questions, but he waited for her to explain and just answered her. "I will love you no matter what," he couldn't help himself and found himself asking. "Is this what was worrying you?"

"In a way," She said quietly.

Kidd felt the urge to say ask what it was, but he didn't and simply said. "I see."

She was silent for a moment, moving closer to him so he felt the heat radiating from her skin. But then she mumbled. "Thank you..."

Kidd smirked lightly and chuckled lightly. "Anytime, you know I'm here for you no matter what."


	69. Chapter 67: Punching Bag

WinterSoulstis: Law probably would fit well on the smart island, and he'd be safe from the Marines, too! If he wasn't a Warlord now.

Guest: No, Gabs in not prego.

Son of Whitebeard: Gabriella is very conflicted. :\

DisillusionedNight: Lol, yes that's like the 'haunted house' in Bones, but remember: Madman makes 'fun houses' and hates 'haunted houses'.

Alpenwolf: I don't think Roger was married? But if he was, that's better for my story. :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Gabs will speak up, just not for awhile, but Kidd and her relationship will get better. :D

Girl-luvs-manga: Kidd can be romantic when he wants to (because I make him).

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

**Warning: Short chapter, but I felt that I needed a good fight scene since I haven't had one in awhile. Oh, and OoCness, by the way. :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 67: Punching Bag.<p>

The paper was a deep shade of blue with sharp white lines that outlined the fortress. Killer and Owen happened to stumble across a chest deep with in the fortress that had all the blueprints, including the layout for the traps. So, Kidd and Killer, along with his leading commanders, memorized it. It was the best idea that all the important people knew where the safe points were, so in case enemies came then they could get to safety and well, let the traps take care of invaders.

Kidd had looked over these sheets from top to bottom about a million times, but he was looking it over again just to pass time until tomorrow. It was a big day since Killer and he made a few calls, one more grudging than the other, that had to be made. Since Donavan and Token's stupid prank on Big Mom, the Pirate Emperor was out for their blood…because of a bad of candy. Pitiful, yes, but sadly true. So, with the bigger death mark than before, Kidd and Killer decided they were going to need a bit more help…

"_Woof!_"

Hamish broke his train of thought and he looked down to see the puppy running over to him at full speed. _Click, click, click,_ the tiny claws when as Hamish came, the puppy looking at him with large eyes; tongue hanging out in the wind as he jumped on the couch Kidd was sitting on. Then, Hamish jumped on the couch, dashing across with his nose to the cushions until he started to dig underneath Kidd's thigh to pull out his worn out tennis ball. Hamish's black eyes went wider as he nudged Kidd's arm with ball.

"Not now," Kidd bluntly said.

Hamish ignored it and rested his paws on Kidd's arm and then nudged the tennis ball against it again.

"Hamish, _no!_" Kidd barked, which only made the puppy jump onto Kidd's lap and climb all over his chest. "_Hamish, god damnit, NO!_ Go see Gabriella—" Kidd stopped when he said that and looked over at his summoner mage.

Her mood hadn't changed. She was so quiet, so…_so quiet_. She never smiled anymore, no matter what; even when Madeline showed her catalogs of shoes. The only think that made her smile weakly was Daniel or Benjamin, but it only lasted a second and then she was back to frowning. She was so troubled and Kidd had no idea what was wrong, which drove him crazy. He wished she would just tell him what was wrong already.

She was just sitting there on the bed crossed legged with Musket in her lap. She petted the winged goblin, not even noticing that Kidd had be talking to her, much less looking at her.

Then she suddenly snapped her head in his direction, an emotionless glaze in her eyes. "Fight me," she bluntly demanded.

Kidd stated at her dumbfounded, his jaw hanging open. "Wha…?"

"Fight me," she repeated just as harshly, pushing the confused Musket aside and stood up with her chin held high. "Unless you're _scared._"

A vein of irritation pulsed on Kidd's brow and she shot up, making Hamish yelp when the puppy fell to the floor. Kidd ignored the puppy and instead snapped: "You want a fight, you got one," and he stormed to the door with Gabriella following right behind him.

And then it was just Hamish whining at the door with his tennis ball at his paws.

* * *

><p>Kidd stood across from Gabriella, watching her carefully; she stood there with an emotionless stare, a hand firmly on the hilt of her sword. Kidd's never seen her look this way before, especially not at him. It was confusing, but also irritating. He did <em>not<em> like being called scared, but if she wanted to use him as her punching bag then she had another thing coming.

"Better not go easy on me," Gabriella called out, whipping out her blade quickly and pointed it at him threateningly.

Kidd just scoffed and got into an offensive position, ready to fight the woman he loved. With all the beams of scarp metal and industrial sized chains around the large storage space, he had all the ammo to fight her. He stretched out an arm, his fingers pulsing with purple sparks, calling forth his devil fruit powers and the metal around the room obeyed to make his signature arm. And the response was Gabriella gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, shifting on the balls of her feet, ready to dodge the massive growing metal arm. But his building metal was only a distraction.

Behind her, Kidd called a collection of metal pipes to hover above the ground silently and go at her. She didn't see it coming; she was too focused on the metal building up to finish all five iron digits. So, she didn't know what hit her until the pipes rammed into her side swiftly, knocking her right off her feet. She rolled across the floor, sword slipping from her grasp, the blade clattering to the metal floor.

She laid there with a forearm on the floor supporting her as the other rubbed the bruises forming on her side, but there was no stopping him now. She didn't want him to hold back so he wouldn't. So, with his large metal arm complete, he swung it up, the iron fingers curling into a fist and he had full intentions to ram it down on her. And it did, but when he lifted the iron fist, he saw nothing but the cracked cement flooring.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the multi-colored vortex and then her person jump out of the portal landing on the balls of her feet into a crouch then proceeded to roll until her hand held her sword once more and was standing firmly on her feet. "_If that's all you got then you'll never win!_" She shouted at him with a stern glare.

Kidd growled; another jab to his strength, ego, his worth as a man all together. He was going to all out, just because she was provoking him to. With a roar, he called forth all metal lying a bout the room to swirl around them like a tornado. There was a look of concern that crossed her features, a small bead of sweat running down her cheek and brow. Kidd would have almost said she looked scared, but when the first piece of metal flew at her, a burning flame came to her eyes.

She dodged the metal with grace; flipping over beams of steel that tried to knock her off her feet, and those feet landing on metal sheets to hop to another one high above it. Kidd would admit, it was memorizing, and that was a mistake.

He was so busy watching her body twist and turn in an elegant way that she barely registered the fact that she was charging him. The sword was held high over her head, ready to slice him in two. He side stepped the sharp blade barely, feeling the rush of wind fly passed his cheek as he watched the blur of grey in front of his eyes. Then to make more distance, he leaped back, the balls of his feet sliding along the floor and with a_ click_ of his heeled boots, he was in a balanced position once more.

"_You get distracted too easily!_" Gabriella screeched.

Kidd felt his brow twitch uncontrollably with rage. "_Shuddup!_" he roared bitterly. "_I could say the same for you and you have the bruises to prove it!_" and with called forth more beams a steel to his side. The metal positioned itself to his will, pointing threateningly and then he whispered: "_Repel,_" and the metal zoomed towards her.

Gabriella's eyes opened wide at the speed, but she matched it by clenching a golden glowing fist and then falling through the ground. The metal implied the wall violently, shaking the structure entirely. And then Gabriella dropped to the ground meters away from the scene, flinching angrily as her brows furrowed together in a harsh scowl and then yelled: "_Caden's Demonic Sword!_" as she swung the sword once.

There was a blast of wind that came from, almost knocking Kidd right off his feet. But he held firm, using his mechanical arm to shield his eyes of dust and bits of metal flying about. He put out a field of the opposite charge around him so the metal wouldn't come near his form, but that didn't stop everything. His large metal arm didn't fair too well. The wind was so intense that it was cut clear in half.

Kidd's eyes opened wide when he saw the iron fall to pieces all around him and then he snapped his head towards his summoner mage. But there was something in his way; or should he say _someone_. It was a devil. In the body of a female, the smooth blue-grey skin was exposed by light leather armor and curly horns sprouted from her white hair. The devil stood on her toes, her tail flickering back and forth wildly as her glowing electric blue eyes locked onto Kidd. And Kidd stared back, but not because of the devil's sudden appearance, but because of the two large swords strapped to her forearms.

"_Caden's Demonic Sword: Wind!_" Gabriella screamed again, and the devil charged him.

Kidd snapped from his moment of shock, stretching out an arm again to send metal flying as he screamed: "_Repel!_"

The devil dodged the iron scraps easily, using its powers to turn into wind itself and appear meters away from him. Kidd ground his teeth together, trying to land a hit on the devil, but she continued to avoid by turning into air and appear somewhere else. But at least the devil wasn't able to hit him with all the dodging she was doing and Gabriella didn't look like she could move at the moment; which gave him the opportunity to rebuild his large metal arm once more. That's when lightening struck inside his mind and he formulated a plan.

A roar rushed past his lips as he swung his newly rebuilt metal arm at the devil, who had dodged easily. Though, that is what Kidd wanted the devil to do since he saw that she could only dodging in its arm from by either going back or forward, and only by going back or forward. Luckily the devil reappeared meters away from its original place and she didn't have the time to dodge the metal as Kidd released it with a small whisper. "_Repel._"

That was a crash and then crack as the body was rammed into the wall thanks to the metal, which caused a chain reaction of Gabriella screaming in pain. The cry didn't stop Kidd and he used an opening to wrap a chain around her from afar. She was trapped an unable to move and she used his devil fruit powers, making her fly through the air to his awaiting mechanical fist.

She clenched his eyes tightly, waiting for the impact.

But then she came to a sudden stop.

She opened her eyes widely, snapping her head up to scowl at him. "I told you not to go easy on me!" She shouted angrily.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Kidd bluntly stated.

"You were fine hurting me before so why stop now!" Gabriella spat bitterly.

"I haven't hurt you the whole battle," Kidd then said.

"Tell that to my bruises!" She snapped.

"You could have dodged that easily," Kidd countered frankly. "It was your own fault for being distracted."

Gabriella growled darkly at him.

Kidd then sighed. "If I knew something would hurt you, I wouldn't have done it Gabriella. And you want to know why? Because _I love you_. Insult me, provoke me, hit me, or use me as a punching bag. Hell, you could even say '_I hate you_' and be god damn serious about it and I still wouldn't hurt you. I love you, that's not gonna change anytime soon or ever no matter what. Don't you get that?" He questioned, watching her shake uncontrollably within the chains still constricting her form.

Her head was hung low so her hair shielded the look on her face, but she was trembling like a madwoman. He thought she was going to explode into rage at him, but then he heard light sniffles. _She was crying_.

"Oh _fuck,_" Kidd mumbled, snapping off his devil fruit powers so the chains dropped in a puddle around his summoner mage's feet and then he embraced her. "Are you okay? Shit, I didn't want to make you cry, god damnit..."

"I'm okay…" she whispered softly.

"No you're not," Kidd snapped, hugging her tightly. "If you were you wouldn't be crying."

"Kidd, I'm okay…" she repeated. "Trust me."

Kidd was silent, pressing his lips into a thin line. "So…you fill better now?" He questioned slowly.

She was silent, but nodded her head against his chest.

"Then…do you want to tell me what's been up lately?" Kidd then asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

Kidd sighed, but then a small smile crossed his lips as he nuzzled his cheek into her hair. "Just tell me when you're ready, okay?"

And Gabriella nodded again.


	70. Chapter 68: Calling for an Alliance

DisillusionedNight: I thought the best way to explain Gabriella's power with a sword is to do an action scene. So, I hope it made sense to everyone one, it not then I may explain it somewhere in a chapter or a blurb.

Shiningheart of Thunderclan: Gabriella would be okay with being called an adorable couple, Kidd not so much. Kidd does have a way with words, who would have thunk. Law needs to take lessons from him: _**how to listen and keep your girlfriend happy, courses required: getting passed third base.**_ Oh, ouch. Looks like you have to wait Law.

Alpenwolf: Maybe Roger was married...who knows. It would be cute if he was; it would make a cute little one-shot of Roger and Rogue eloping, am I right? I just might do that...maybe.

Emz: I'm glad that you like it, and Gabriella will tell Kidd, sorta.

WinterSoulstis: There is a reason to all my madness. The fight actually means a lot, some reasons unclear as now, but others easier to see. Also, I felt like getting more action in there rather than having more talking. **UGH**, a full talking chapter would have made me cry. T.T

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Venting is one of the reasons for the fight, but, like I said above, there are more reasons for and within the fight between lovers.

Girl-luvs-manga: Romantic, but OoC...lol

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 68: Calling for an Alliance<p>

Jeremy sat in the silence of the dinning area, a gentle smile on his face. Between meals in the fortress, the dinning area was completely cleared; not even a soul stepped into the room. So, it was the perfect place to continue his research; there was always room to learn, but in this case, there was room to teach as well.

"J—Jeremy?" Daniel looked up from the text he was reading and moved the book closer so the teen could see. Then he pointed to a word that his young nine-year-old mind couldn't grasp. "How do you say this?"

"Embezzle," Jeremy replied. "_Em-bez-uhl_, that's how it's pronounced."

"Oh…" Daniel mumbled, his cheeks turning a light pink at the easy pronunciation. "But what does it mean?" the boy then asked.

"Embezzle is a verb meaning to appropriate fraudulently to one's use, such as money or property entrusted to one's care," Jeremy explained.

Daniel blinked up at him blankly.

"Um…in other terms, it means to steal money from someone, mostly from an employer, like a boss of a company," Jeremy elaborated.

"Oh." Daniel nodded and then returned back to reading.

Jeremy smiled and then patted the boy on the head lightly. Killer had come to the teen a few days ago, saying that Daniel needed to be schooled. The masked blonde wanted the boy not only to know the ways of battle, but also the knowledge of the world around him; such as math, science, literature and history. And Jeremy was probably the only one able to teach the boy all these things, not that the teen was saying this crew was stupid or anything. Well…there were quite a bit of bad apples in the bunch, but the ones that would be able to teach Daniel were busy with more important things. Jeremy was pretty much along for the ride and to give information when it was asked of him, and that was it. So, teaching the boy was no problem at all, and quite frankly, Jeremy enjoyed it.

"_Dannie, honey, you in here?_"

"Gabriella!" Daniel gasped happily, turning around sharply in his seat to see the summoner mage appear in the doorway. Then the boy hopped out of his seat and then darted over to her, hugging her tightly around the waist and the summoner mage smile gently, couching down slightly so she could hook her arms under the boy's arms and lifted up. Daniel giggled childishly, wrapping his arms and legs around her form as she walked back over to the table.

"Sorry to interrupt school…" She apologized sheepishly with a smile.

"No problem," Jeremy returned with his own small smile. "Taking a break every now and then is good. It refreshes the mind so that learning becomes easier later on."

"Ah, I see," Gabriella nodded as she placed Daniel back in his seat and then proceed to sit in the spot next to the boy. "I hope that you are settling in with the crew. They can be a bit…rough."

"I know…" Jeremy replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "They weren't that welcoming when I first came, but Chamberlain and Heat…for a better word, _told_ them not to bother me."

"So, they threatened them pretty badly, huh?" Gabriella said with a small smirk.

"Exactly," Jeremy chuckled quietly, but then he changed the topic when he saw that the summoner mage was acting differently. "And you seem to be in a better mood."

Gabriella looked at him oddly. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone's been talking about it," Jeremy started to explain. "You have been in a rather…sour mood. There are even rumors that you and Kidd really fought last night. Did he do something to you?" A dark cloud then hug over the summoner mage, making Jeremy panic slightly. "I did not mean to upset! I'm truly sorry to have asked…"

Gabriella waved it aside and quickly changed the topic again. "So what are you reading?"

"Well, I'm sorta multitasking," Jeremy answered with a sense of pride. "I'm helping Daniel with vocabulary and literature as I study islands that we might come across in the future, based on the route that the log post as gone so far. Though it's difficult to tell which will be the next island since there are three possible choices we can take and with each choice we make, the path grows different. That's why it's rather difficult to map out the Grand Line, especially the New World. But with a bit of math and looking at a basic map of what the Grand Line might look like, I made a few calculations of what islands we might come across so that we can prepare for the worse."

Gabriella blinked. "You almost lost me there…" she mumbled, but then shook her head. "So what island are you looking at now?"

"Ah, that would be Dogbane's Grotto, a women ruled island," Jeremy answered.

"A women ruled island?" Gabriella looked at him in confusion. "But I thought that it was only one like that. Amazon Lily, right?"

"Ah, there's a difference," Jeremy explained. "Dogbane's Grotto has men, but the women are in power. Amazon Lily's population is of only women."

"Strange…" she mumbled.

"Strange, but both fascinating islands, though, no one, as in men from Athens, has ever been to Amazon Lily to know what it's like, but I heard that they are strong warriors and are lead by Boa Hancock, the most beautiful woman in the world," Jeremy said with a blush.

"_Ooh~_" Gabriella cooed with a sly smirk. "Do you have a crush on her?"

Jeremy's eyes snapped open wide and his pink blush turned crimson. "No! I—I'm just saying the facts! P—plus there is a woman rumored to rival her beauty!"

Gabriella tilted her head to the side with a frown. "Really? Who's that? Is that the one you have a crush on?" she then asked with another sly smirk.

"W—well it—it—"

"_Gabriella!_"

The roar of the leading captain made Jeremy jump in his seat with fright, but it was a good thing he didn't say anything.

"Ah there you are," Kidd said as he walked swiftly into the room. "I was wondering where you went since I woke up alone."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but then they snapped open wide when Kidd hoisted her up onto his shoulder. "Hey! I told you to stop doing this!" She snapped angrily.

Kidd just grunted and walked out of the room.

"Bye Gabriella…" Daniel waved weakly to the cursing summoner mage before she and the captain left the room.

And Jeremy sighed; saved by the man that would have killed him.

* * *

><p>"Kidd, don't"<p>

"I'm not doing anything wrong."

"Yes you are."

"I'm treating your bruises; nothing wrong with that. I told you last night I would do it in the morning."

"Well, you're doing it wrong."

"Oh? Are you saying you don't like the way I'm doing it then?"

"Don't change the topic! I'm just telling you that you're going about 'treating' my bruises the wrong way."

"Really; how so?"

"Well, I'm pretty damn sure you're not supposed to use your _mouth_. Or take my shirt off either."

"The shirt was getting in the way"

"No it wasn't and you know that!"

"At least you like the kisses, right? Kisses always make things better, _yes~?_"

"At times maybe—_HEY!_ Don't take my pants off, too! Oh and for _Mortalitas's_ _Love_ put your stupid pants back on!"

"_No~._"

"Kidd, don't—"

"Rolling over on your back isn't gonna help ya~."

"Kidd, please—"

"Please continue? Will do; just relax babe. I'll make you feel _all~_ better."

"_C—c—ceh…_"

"_Oh~?_ So, you like this, eh?"

"Kidd, ple—please—"

"Please try it from behind? I was thinking that would be a good idea…"

"Kidd! Don't do this—"

"Gabriella, god damnit! Telling me 'don't' won't do anything; if anything it eggs me on. Tell me to _stop_ if you if you want me to _stop_. Do you want me to stop?"

She was silent for a moment, quickly thinking it over. It was conflicting; she hadn't done anything with Kidd for weeks and she was feeling so desperate right now, but she couldn't. Though, the smooth feeling of his hands on the bare skin of her hips and his lips on her neck told her body and mind just to give in. One night wouldn't hurt, right? So, she ended up shaking her head no into the pillow; she didn't want him to stop.

"Are you positive?"

She nodded her head this time.

"See that wasn't so hard…"

She moaned at the pleasure he started to inflict upon her body, the movement making her melt. The pillow her head rested against smothered her as she gripped the corners to muffle her cries. It felt so good; she didn't know why or even how she could block just pleasure from happening before. Over something petty, yet important to her; though Kidd had proved himself to her. Every doubt she had against him was shot down by his actions and words, mostly. Some things may have been…unsettling, but overall, she was in a much better place than when she first started out.

Then her thoughts her sliced when she screamed loudly into the pillow, her body withering away to the heat filling her body and then she weakly yelped as Kidd's body collapsed on top of hers.

"You okay, babe?" Kidd questioned in her ear heavily.

Gabriella turned her head so she could look at him and nodded tiredly. "I just want to sleep now…"

Kidd nodded in return, stealing away a kiss before burying his nose into the crook of her neck and wrapping his arms around her stomach, falling asleep instantly.

Though, she didn't want to sleep. Something didn't feel right at all and it was strange. Nothing was out of the ordinary really, so what could possibly be strange? Was it the fortune? Maybe, but she thought she was over that… She sighed and wiggled her way out of under Kidd and may her way to the bathroom. A nice bath would make her feel a bit better, right? Sitting on the edge of the tub, she watched the water slowly fill up and when there was enough, she turned off the water and then climbed in.

She just sat there, curled up in a tight ball with her legs pressed against her chest and her head resting on her kneecaps. She sighed deeply closing her eyes; what was she going to do?

Then she sound of heavy footsteps made her open her eyes to see Kidd walking into the bathroom. His pants back on his hips, he sat down on the other side of the tub and looked at her. "Was I too harsh?"

Gabriella blinked in confusion. "No…?"

"With what I said," Kidd elaborated. "The last thing I wanna do is force you into something you don't want."

"I _did _want to do it," Gabriella softly said with a smile. "I would of told you otherwise if I didn't wanna."

"Then what's wrong?" Kidd asked. "Can you just tell me what's up already? I could help…maybe."

Gabriella looked away from him for a moment, a frown settling on her features. Maybe she should tell Kidd… It would be better if everything was out in the open. "Okay…" She finally spoke. "It has to do with the fortune I got…and I think it might be true or become true."

Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Those damn fortunes were too damn detailed if you ask me. But in the end they're all just fake as fake came be."

Gabriella stared at him. "But they came true…"

"Only Bedros's did," Kidd huffed irritably. "And Killer told me that the whore behind him saw the fortune and decided to swoop in apparently. It was only luck on the devil's part."

Gabriella pressed her lips in a thin line. "What was your fortune?"

"Don't worry about it," Kidd waved it aside. "It's too fucked up to even mention. All I know is it's never gonna happen as long as I live; same goes for yours, which I'm guessing you didn't want to talk about because you thought it would happen."

"But…it seemed too real…" Gabriella murmured gently.

"The same goes with some dreams, right?" Kidd countered with a bored expression, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he propped an elbow up on his knee. "Just because they seem real doesn't mean they happened or ever will. So don't worry about it, babe."

Gabriella could only stare; hard to believe that Kidd had a way with simple words so they struck home hard. Then she smiled lovingly. "_'_Kay."

Kidd smirked coyly and then suddenly stood up while dropping his pants. "Now move over, I want in," and he stepped into the tub quickly, snuggling up behind her as he pulled her close to his chest so he could kiss the bare skin of her shoulder.

"_Kidd!_"

They both stopped at the sudden voice that was not the summoner mage's, but rather Killer outside their room, his words slurred with anxiousness.

"_Come'ere, you gotta see this!_"


	71. Chapter 69: The Arrangements

Alpenwolf: The fortunes will be revealed, one before the other, one sooner than the other.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Was Kidd's fortune BS though? Well, only I know that, huh? But soon you will, too. :D

DisillusionedNight: Kidd hasn't been very pirate-tee for awhile since there hasn't been enemies to fight...but there will be dark, action packed horror (if I can pull it off) in the coming chapters. :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Yees~, my humor was a success. And what Killer found is quite cannon, _wink-wink-nudge-nudge_.

Girl-luvs-manga: The rival of Hancock's beauty can go a few ways. One: it's Jeremy's personal opinion. Two: its actually true. Or three: her stripper nick name (Exotic Scarlet) and her outrageous, exposing outfit makes her look 'kinky' so more men get turned on compared to other woman. Simply put: men think she's a porn star.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 69: The Arrangements<p>

After standing at least twenty minutes in front of Kidd's door, the fucking ginger finally came out. "About time," Killer grumbled, but he got straight to the point since time was wasting away. "But anyway, I was in the screening room, and one of the televisions turned on, the big one and the craziest thing—" Killer then stopped when he saw the state of his captain. "Did…you just get out of the bath?"

Kidd smirked slyly, his fingers running through his damp red hair to smooth it back. "Hell yeah and it was damn fucking good," he continued, hooking and arm around the summoner mage as she walked up beside him.

Killer blinked, looking between the grinning red head and the grumbling summoner mage that was drying her wet locks with a towel. "TMI, dude. TMI," was all Killer said on the matter and then turned on the heel of his foot. "Now just come, it's easier if you just see it rather than me explaining."

Kidd grunted and simply followed the masked blonde down the hall to the screening room. The Kidd Pirate's Fleet nick-named the room that since it was wall to wall of thin televisions hanging everywhere, like it was meant to spy on the inhabitants of the fortress. Which it was, Donavan found out the hard way when he and Token tried to sneak a peek of Gabriella showering and accidently zoomed in on Anna. Yeah, the pirate wife had a sixth sense that she was being watched in the shower and the two perverts were in the infirmary for two weeks due to broken legs and arms… So, spying was no longer happening in the screening room and it was used rather for the crew's entertainment to watch sports, horror films and of course the news.

And this seemed to be a special addition of it since on the largest screen was three big names were there in a cage chained: Smoker the White Hunter, The Dark Doctor Trafalgar Law and the biggest surprise, Monkey D. Luffy. It was the return of Strawhat. Though, Strawhat was only one part of the thing Killer wanted to tell Kidd, it had to do with the broadcast.

"You interested in genocide weapons?" Killer questioned as he flopped down on the couch.

Gabriella made a sound of distaste and rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be." She said bluntly as she sat down beside the masked blonde and adjusted the towel to rest against her neck. "But I can't say the same for Kidd…?" she looked over her shoulder to eye him curiously.

Kidd crossed his arms over his chest, listening to the speaker go on about this weapon of war. Then a wicked smirk crossed his lips. "No, but it's better to know 'bout it, right?"

Killer nodded. "Agreed."

Gabriella just shrugged. "I guess it's better know something about it...just in case…"

"Doubt we'd ever come near it though," Kidd huffed and turned away from the screen. "It's useless to watch. The only thing worth seeing is the return of Strawhat and that damn Trafalgar. I thought he'd become crazy and turned into a petty dog of the Government, but in the end he was scheming something! I know he has something goin' on in the twisted, fucked up mind of his!"

Killer was silent and simply got up from his seat and followed his captain.

Gabriella followed suit, but she was anything but silent. "I thought you didn't give a flying fuck about what Trafalgar did?"

Kidd just grunted and changed the topic. "Did they come?" He asked, looking over his shoulder to Killer.

"Yeah," Killer replied with a nod. "They're already inside. To tell the truth, I'm surprised they even came," he added, stopping before the door to the fort's briefing room. "So, please Kidd, be friendly."

"That sounds too difficult for him, Killer," Gabriella commented, smirking teasingly up at the red head.

Kidd growled at her. "Shut up!" He snapped as he turned the knob to the door and opened it slowly.

Kidd, Killer and Gabriella stood there silence at the mayhem on the other side. Chairs thrown across the room and split to pieces, men under Kidd's Fleet bruise and broken as they lied scattered across the floor in puddles of their own blood. Even the roof was no more, showing the bright blue sky of day. Kidd blinked in shock, and then he began to tremble with rage.

Killer hung his head slightly then shook it. "Good god, this is not going to turn out well."

"Obviously," Gabriella chuckled.

"_Hiya there, Eustass! How nostalgic to see that disgusting mug of yours again! It's hard to believe that you could even get a girlfriend of high quality like Gabriella!_"

"Oh, Apoo!" Gabriella gasped with a smile and looked around Kidd's muscular form to wave at the other pirate captain. "It's good to see you again! And that's for the compliment!" She added on with a giggle.

Apoo waved it aside with fair smirk, show casing his piano-like teeth. "It's only the truth, girlfriend."

Kidd exploded. "_Don't call __**my **__girl 'girlfriend', you bastard!_" He roared. "_And what the fuck, Scratchmen! Who gave you the fuckin' right to mess up my hideout!_"

Apoo scoffed with a smirk. "I thought you might be hiding a sniper somewhere. When you get summoned by the enemy you go there ready to fight!"

A vein of rage bulged along Kidd's brow and then he whipped his attention towards. "_Look, Killer! That's why I told you not to call him!_"

Killer placed a hand on his captain's shoulder. "Cool down. He's a powerful one."

"_I don't care!_" Kidd barked and whirled his deadly gaze back at Apoo. "_I'll kill him here and now!_"

Apoo laughed heartily and ushered the red head over tauntingly with his finger. "Ohh! Good Spirit! I'm ready so come at me, ginger!"

Kidd roared loudly in a battle cry and charged towards the other pirate captain and not even Gabriella could stop him, no matter how hard she tried.

Killer sighed deeply; this was no going the way he had hoped. And it only got worse when he heard the sound of chair legs scratch along the floor as the second, quieter pirate captain stood up from the table.

"How foolish…I'm leaving."

"W—wait!" Killer reached out with a hand to try and stop him. "Hawkins! Don't be so hasty!" But then he turned to the sounds of annoying battle in the background and roared to Apoo and Kidd: "_Quit it! The both of you! Weren't we going to enter an alliance! Can't we even discuss?_"

The fighting simmered down, but it really stopped when Gabriella was able to fully wrap her arms around Kidd's neck, choking him slightly. Apoo snickered at the sight, but a stern glare made him shut up. Then Gabriella looked to Killer in confusion. "When...when were we gonna make an alliance?"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you didn't tell me you were gonna form an alliance." Gabriella huffed, nudging her knee against his shoulder as she sat on the armrest of his chair. "This was important; why didn't tell me?"<p>

"Not now, babe, please," Kidd groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We can talk about this later."

"No, no, no," Apoo interrupted, waving a hand and then propped his elbows on the table to table his chin. "This seems interesting. I wanna hear the reason, plus lover's spats are hilarious."

Kidd slammed his mechanical fist to the table, his brow twitching in annoyance and he sneered. "Shut the fuck up! We have work to do, moron!"

Apoo pouted mockingly. "But we finished all our work, we came to an agreement, right?"

"Hawkins hasn't given his answer yet," Kidd snapped bitterly.

Then everyone looked at the fortune teller examining his cards on the table, flipping over cards and then waited a moment to ponder the hidden meanings only he could understand. The fact that Hawkins was testing everyone's patience did not pressure him into going faster.

Kidd groaned, frustrated with waiting and the glare he was receiving from Gabriella didn't make him feel any better. He looked at her, examining her face; her brows furrowed slightly and her lips pulled in a small frown. And even though she was kinda mad at him, she still seemed to have a small blush on her cheeks. How she could look so...like _this_ when mad he didn't even know, but she pulled it off.

"Hey…Gabriella?"

Kidd growled when he heard Apoo speak again, especially to his summoner mage, but Apoo paid no attention to the dark look he was receiving.

"Where'd you get those bruises?" Apoo asked, pointing a finger to the blossoming purple and blue spots on her side.

Gabriella looked around, her hand touching the damaged skin gingerly. "This? Kidd and I got in a fight, no big deal really."

Apoo gasped in shock, a look of horror on his face. "_He hit you! What an abusive boyfriend!_"

Kidd slammed his hands onto the table and stood up sharply and roared: "Listen here, you fucktard—!"

"Kidd!" Gabriella grabbed his arm to try and pull him back into his seat. "Calm down!" Then she turned to the snickering long-armed captain. "It's not like _that_ Apoo!"

Kidd jerked his arm away from her grasp and ignored her plead,continuing in his bloody, red rage. "_You are so fuckin—!_"

"Ahem," Hawkins interrupted Kidd's threat to Apoo by coughing. "I have come to a decision."

"Good," Killer finally spoke up, leaning forward in his seat. "What have you decided?"

"Well," Hawkins started. "According to the cards, it unclear what will happen if I chose to agree to these arrangements or not. The Kidd Pirate Fleet as gotten in trouble with Big Mom, a Pirate Emperor. Unwise, but it seems that it wasn't for naught… So, I decided to agree to the terms of the agreement to an alliance. The cards tell me that something good might come out of it."

"So it's official?" Killer asked slowly, and Hawkins nodded. That made the masked blonde sigh in relief. "We have an alliance that will either help us fight Big Mom if she comes after us or help us take her down."

Hawkins nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "That is correct."

"That's _good_, actually," Killer corrected. "Isn't it Kidd?"

Kidd just grunted, his anger simmering down to normal levels so he could think clearly. "I guess you're right…"

"He _is_ right, Eustass," Apoo smirked mockingly. "Now we came be _best friends forever_."

Kidd's rage levels went back up and he tackled the other pirate captain, ready to rip that god damn smirk off just like another smirking idiot that he hated.

And Killer stood up to try and stop the two from killing each other as Hawkins sighed and Gabriella shook her head.


	72. Chapter 70: Paranoia

**ATTENTION: Dear Readers, I have news for you. This chapter fast-forwards quite a lot compared to Bones. I know the two stories are parallel, but I can't have the Kidd Pirates stay at the hideout until the end of the Punk Hazard Arc. I, and I'm sure you all, want to get on with the program of something cool for a new arc, right? Pus, there are a bit of non-cannon spoilers in here for Bones, nothing dramatic though, so do not worry. That's all I wanted to say.** **:D**

DisillusionedNight: Thank you for pointing that out! I wish more people pointed out mistakes since it makes my storied better in a way...lol.

Alpenwolf: Apoo can't like his home girl's bf, Jawn. Lol...

cicir: Lol, puny, I like that. ;D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Thank you for liking how I did the meeting, now I can only hope that Kidd, Hawkins and Apoo make and alliance. It would suck if they didn't...

Shiningheart of Thunderclan: Eh, that's about right. And I can't wait to write them officially on an adventure together. :D

Girl-luvs-manga: Gabriella is too cool for porn, but that doesn't mean she won't work the pole for Kidd. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 70: Paranoia<p>

The meeting was over and Gabriella had wanted to give Apoo and Hawkins the grand tour of fortress. Kidd, on the other hand, didn't want that since this was_ his_ secret hideout and he didn't need rival pirates peeking around, even if they were officially in an alliance. Killer would agree with Kidd on that matter, but he wanted to give Apoo and Hawkins the benefit of the doubt; he wanted to have trust. Trust meant Apoo and Hawkins would help rather than betray. So, he didn't stop the tour from going on and simply left.

With the alliance set in stone, Killer had other things to focus on, like Strawhat Luffy. Kidd may not have shown much interest in the return of the rubber captain, but Killer did, a lot. So, he went back to the screening room, seeing that the television was still on, but it had taken quite a turn in events. The insane doctor known as Caesar Clown was fighting Strawhat now, and Killer couldn't believe his eyes. Was Strawhat Luffy handling a giant _chainsaw?_ Well was, the chainsaw broke after one too many fatal swings into the walls, and Strawhat tossed the thing aside and the fight went on.

Caesar looked more confident when Luffy was…unarmed, but then Luffy dashed away from Caesar, almost as if he was running away. But Killer knew that wasn't it; Luffy was getting ready for an attack. And the attack was brilliant, even Killer would admit that.

Luffy's arms turned pitch black, his fists inflating along with sections of his arms. At the moment, Caesar knew he lost, and the insane scientist mumbled one last plead before Strawhat rammed his fists into his target. Then Caesar was gone from frame.

Killer placed a hand to his chin, his finger brushing against the hair growing there. He tilted his head to side in thought. _Interesting_.

But then a flashing green light on the control plane by the wall started to blink. Confused, Killer went over and pressed the button. Then a small screen before his eyes flickered on.

He stared in shock. It was him…in the _shower_.

There was only one person this messed up to spy on him in the shower. And in rage, he roared bloody murder at the top of his lungs: "**MADELINE YOU FUCKED UP BITCH! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!**"

* * *

><p>Madeline bit her lip in consideration, making sure her sewing needle didn't poke Jacques in the side. "I'm almost done…" she mumbled, and then finished off the thread. "There, the hole in your jacket is fixed," she said with a smile.<p>

Jacques smiled brightly at her, speaking to her quickly in French.

"Um…you're welcome?" She said slowly, unsure if that was a good reply since she really didn't what he said.

Jacques just laughed brightly, which made Madeline laugh quietly along with him; still unsure if it was a good thing that he was laughing ore not.

"**MADELINE YOU FUCKED UP BITCH! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!**"

Madeline gasped when she heard the threat. "Oh no! He must of found my movie! I gotta make sure he doesn't erase it! I masturbate to that!" And then she was rushing out of the room.

Jacques stood there and watched her leave, and then hung his head low in defeat.

* * *

><p>Killer stared at the hand stretched out towards him in utter confusion then looked at Gabriella standing behind the boy and then back at hand again. "...what?" He mumbled slowly, glancing further down to see the bright smile on Daniel's face.<p>

"Please, Killer?" Daniel said nervously, wiggling his tiny fingers at Killer. "My Mommy and Daddy did it when I was little…"

Killer was silent for a moment as he looked back at Gabriella, who simply smiled lightly; she looked okay with the idea, but Killer, not so much. "I doubt Kidd would like it," was his poor excuse.

"I already asked Captain Kidd about it," was Daniel's counter. "He's said as long as there ain't any funny business."

Killer stared at Daniel then looked up at Gabriella, knowing that the summoner mage had something to do with this, which she did by the sheepishly look she was hiding. Granted, she was probably just agreeing to this because Daniel used his puppy-dog eyes on her, it was the only time he ever showed his eyes; his hair was getting kinda long…but that was beside the point. Just because Kidd said it was okay didn't mean Killer wanted to do it.

"Well," Killer continued with his excuses; though this one was more acceptable. "I think you're too old for that."

Daniel's hopeful smile turned into one of despair and he hung his head low in defeat.

And that made Gabriella frown as well. "Killer…it isn't that bad. Its night and no one is out. In fact, every living soul in this town went home before the sun went down."

"I've seen a few people," Killer rebutted flatly.

Gabriella sighed. "Come on, Killer. It is only going to be for a few minutes. Just a walk around town; you did say you wanted to check out the new island, right?"

Killer crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. "I did say that, but I didn't think a question like _this_ would turn up."

Gabriella shook her head in disappointment. "He hasn't had the best childhood; can you at least give him some good memories that remind him of his folks?"

Killer's initial answer would have been no, but he looked down at the boy as saw the sad look on his face, his long bang probably covering his teary eyes; he _was_ still a kid. Killer needed to remember that, plus the fact that he sorta took on the father figure without even knowing. Now, he had to take a bit of responsibility, right? So, he held out his hand to Daniel. "Fine, but only this time and no more. Got it? I do have a reputation to keep up and this doesn't help it…"

Daniel's smile returned and the boy quickly grabbed his hand, wrapping his little fingers around Killer's gauntleted hand. Then the boy held out his other hand to the summoner mage and Gabriella took it with a smile, and they started their walk.

Half way through, Gabriella spoke up and she looked down at Daniel. "Ready?"

Daniel nodded his head frantically, his smile turning brighter.

"Okay. Now, one," she started and swung her hand forward and Killer followed suit, making Daniel's arms stretch out in front of him. "Two," she continued, swinging her hand back along with Killer so Daniel's arms until behind him slightly. "Three!" she finished, she and Killer quickly bringing their hands forward again so Daniel's small body rushed with the momentum and his feet kicked off the ground.

Daniel giggled in pure delight, like the action caused a true moment of the past to come alive.

Killer felt a bit…awkward, but at least Daniel was happy. The boy had it tough being on a pirate ship for a year, plus the fact that he was training to become a fighter. The boy was still a kid though and still needed to have his childhood moments and, oddly enough, Killer felt…proud to be apart of that. But he couldn't focus on that. As Gabriella continued the count down, repeating it over and over for Daniel's entertainment, Killer fell into a rhythm. That allowed him time to focus on his surroundings.

The island was an average sized place with multiple cities on it. Though, the one that they docked at was the largest. The buildings were tall and all made of red bricks, and the roads were made of cobblestones for horse and carriages to travel down. Black iron lamp post lit the streets with bright yellow dots. Seemed like a normal place, but he never underestimated a book by its cover, especially when a crowd surrounds by a dark alleyway.

Killer instantly let go of Daniel's hand and went over to the crowd to listen in.

"Poor girl," an elderly woman tsked to another as she shook her head sadly. "She's the fifteenth one this week. And I remembered she had such pretty eyes; amber that shined like coins in the light."

"Do you think it's as bad as the last one was rumored to be?" The second elderly woman asked, trying to sneak a peek over the wall of officers blocking the scene of the crime.

"Who knows, the police wouldn't let anyone see," the first replied. "My grandson's in the force though. He says that all the victims are women and they are cut to bit with a butcher knife. He says it's a gory sight and that's it. He thinks his little old Nana can't handle a bit of blood."

"I think it might be better that way…" The second countered. "It's one thing to picture and another to actually see it."

"True, true…" The first nodded in agreement. "We best be off though, the police might get anger again if the crowd stays too long."

And some of the crowd left, but curious others stuck around, like Killer. There seemed to be a serial killer going around picking off women. This really didn't affect his crew since there were all men, but there was one woman and a freak of nature stick-ass-bitch. Killer was still pissed that she made a porn video of him showering. He may have beaten the bitch to a pulp, but it still wasn't enough to fill his satisfaction.

"Sir," the stern voice of an officer broke the masked blonde from his thoughts and he looked up to see the man in blue uniform step closer. "I'd appreciate if you leave the sight like the rest of the citizens."

Killer stared at him silently.

Then another officer rushed over, the younger man tugging on the sleeve of his superior's uniform. "Commander Burks!" The young officer yelped. "Don't you have any idea who this man is? It's Massacre Machine Killer! And that's Exotic Scarlet!"

Commander Burks scoffed and ripped his arm from the younger officer's grip. "I'm not stupid!" He snapped. "But I have more important things to worry about than pirates! I need to save a city from a killer out for blood. The Marines can handle their pirates they are so desperate to stop." Then the officer turned back to Killer. "This criminal is after women, so I advice you take your girl and kid inside and off the streets," and then he turned on the heel of his foot back to the scene of the crime.

Killer stared. "He just called you my girlfriend," he said slowly.

"Yeah…" Gabriella nodded uneasily. "Probably thought that because of little Dannie," he guessed, holding the shaken boy close. "And I think he should get back to the inn…Dannie's a little scared after hearing that. Plus I think I should warn Madeline."

Killer was silent for a moment, but then bluntly countered: "Actually, I think that we should just let Madeline die."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe some fuck thought that <em>Killer<em> was _your_ boyfriend," Kidd snapped bitterly as he leaned against a wall to angrily stare out the window that showed a raging storm that matched his mood.

"It was a honest mistake," Gabriella sighed, shaking her head at the way Kidd was acting, but she pushed it aside and focused on her task at hand. She sat on the edge of the bed with Daniel standing in her front of her, his back turned towards her. His hair had been getting long, a bit too long and she wanted to cut it, but the boy wouldn't have it. So, she comprised with him and raveled his blonde locks into a small braid to keep it out of the way. "There," she smiled when done. "That looks much better."

Daniel turned around and smiled brightly up at her in return.

"You should just chop it all off," Kidd scoffed, scowling that the boy. "That's the reason why there was a mix up in the first place."

Daniel's smile turned into a guilty frown.

Gabriella glared sharply at Kidd for his words and then she snatched up the first thing she could get her hands on, which was her hair brush, and then chucked it at her jerk of boyfriend.

Kidd easily dodged it though, tilting his head to the side so the brush flew passed his cheek and over his shoulder. "That was uncalled for."

"No, what you said was uncalled for," Gabriella barked as she brought Daniel into a protective hug. "You don't say that to a child, Kidd. He didn't do anything wrong, no one did."

"I beg to differ," Kidd huffed irritably.

Gabriella scoffed at him and then she stood up, saying on last thing before taking Daniel to his room for the night. "Just remember who crawls into bed with you every night and not Killer," and then she stormed out of the room with Daniel right behind her.

* * *

><p>Gabriella tucked Daniel into bed, making sure he was chin-high with blankets to keep him warm from the chilly night. Then she planted a tiny kiss on his forehead, but when she started to move, a flash of lightening lit the room as the rumble thunder followed.<p>

Daniel yelped, his eyes opening wide with fear and he jumped up to cling to the summoner mage's neck.

"Dannie, baby, it's alright," Gabriella comforted him, wrapping her arms around his quivering from. "Everything's alright, don't be scared," she continued to sooth him with soft words until she felt him calm down. But when she tried to move, Daniel clung for her desperately again.

"Don't go…please!" He begged in a tiny whisper.

"But there's noting to be afraid of," Gabriella tried to reassure him with a smile, gently pushing back down on the bed. "You are a big boy that knows how to fight and is very strong all thanks to Killer, right?"

Daniel nodded slowly as Gabriella replaced the blankets over his form.

"See, you don't always need me here, okay?" Gabriella concluded as she stood up from sitting on the bedside, but then the boy grabbed her by the wrist.

"But can't I be scared still?" Daniel asked nervously.

Gabriella sighed. "There's nothing wrong with that, now is there," she replied with a smile. "But I can't stay with you because Kidd will have a hissy fit, won't he?"

"He does like getting grouchy," Daniel admitted sheepishly.

Gabriella let out a short laugh when she heard that. "That he does, that he does," the summoner mage agreed. "But how 'bout I get Benji? Will it make you feel better if I did that?"

Daniel nodded his head.

"Okay, I'll get him for you," she said and then finally left the room.

The inn was all one floor, so finding Benjamin the bear would be easy. Gabriella walked along the darks halls, the only light being from the flashes of lightening from the storm. Looking around, she felt an eerie feeling, as if she was being…watched.

In the dinning area of inn, she stopped suddenly and scanned the area. Everything was black, the chairs and tables barely unrecognizable if it wasn't for the small white highlights coming from the window. Then when lightening struck, the world white, making the simply objects' shadows long before flickering away to darkness.

Gabriella rubbed her arms of the goose bumps forming along her skin, shuttering at the feeling. "Benji?" She finally called out, nervously looking around the room. "You in here?"

The only reply was a flash of lighting, and her eyes opened wide when the wall in front of her portrayed an eerie picture. There was the bright white light of the glass from the window, the shadow of her head and then…one of another.

She whipped around, inhaling sharply, but when she looked behind her, there was nothing. Her heart beat was racing; she had never been one to watch horror movies and she didn't feel like being in one. But she logically figured it was just someone walking past, maybe an officer, making his rounds. Yes, that's right; a man of the law walking around to make sure the people of his city are safe.

"Gabriella?"

She yelped, almost jumping out of her skin when she heard her name was suddenly spoken from behind. Whipping around again, she looked around frantically, but still saw nothing.

"Down here."

She looked down and saw little-bitty Benjamin staring up at her with wide black button eyes. "Oh…it's you…you scared me, don't do that!"

"I was not doing that intentionally, ma'am," Benjamin the bear replied apologetically. "I saw you standing in the middle of the tavern and I wanted to see if you were alright."

"Ah, oh, um yes, I'm fine." Gabriella replied. "I was looking for you. Dannie's scared and doesn't want to be alone."

"I see that you are implying that I spent the night with him," Benjamin sighed, stepping forward to grab her hand. "Very well, I shall walk you back to your room since you are shaken as well."

Gabriella blinked in confusion. "I'm not scared."

Benjamin the bear scoffed. "That's what you think. As a bear, I can sense certain things that a human cannot. So, just follow me. I will make sure you are alright," and he dragged a confused summoner mage behind him.

* * *

><p>Okay, so she would admit she was slightly paranoid, probably due to the fact that there was a serial killer out for women's blood. That was normal, right? A normal thing to get worried of, that it, but as long as she was with Kidd she had nothing to worry about. She felt that Kidd was more violent that any serial killer.<p>

So, once in her room again, she quickly crawled into bed with Kidd. The red head snorted awake slightly when he felt her snuggle up close to his chest. He didn't say anything though, but not out of spite. He simply nodded off back to sleep as he draped an arm around her, puller her body closer to his.

Gabriella wasn't so lucky though; she couldn't get to sleep at all. Her eyes remained fixated on the wall that flashed white with the image of the window. Her mind kept telling her that something would appear, but he eyes saw nothing. Hours passed by and the rhythmic beating of Kidd's heart pulsing against her cheek made her feel drowsy. Finally, she closed her eyes to sleep, but the pound of thunder jolted her awake. Her eyes snapped open, and there in the image she saw the shadow of a person.

"_Kidd!_" She screeched, making the red head jolt awake.

All in one movement, Kidd grabbed her by wrapping an arm around her protectively and he also snatched up his pistol on the nightstand and cocking it quickly. He looked around the room, but saw nothing. "What is it?"

"There's someone out side," Gabriella said hurriedly, pointing a finger towards the window, but she dare not look.

Kidd scoffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "There is no one out there," he grumbled and got out of bed to open the window. "Nothing but god damn rain, babe; babe? Damnit, Gabriella, look!" And when she did, Kidd motioned to the window again. "See? There's _nothing_ there."

"But…there's a serial—"

"Gabriella," Kidd sharply cut off her off, scowling at her darkly. "Nothing will happen to you, _ever_. So do not doubt me, _ever_. Got it?"

Gabriella nodded slowly. "Got it…" she murmured softly as she looked down at her lap.

Kidd sighed deeply, his heavy footsteps echoing in her ears as he got closer, and then the rustling of the sheets beside her made her glance up at him slightly. He cupped her cheek, his fingers moving along her jaw so they could hook under her chin so he could force her eyes to look at him. "Love you," was all he said.

"Love you, too," she replied.

Then Kidd gave her a quick kiss on the lips before sliding under the sheets and went back to sleep.

Gabriella, still, couldn't get to sleep though. No matter how much she trusted Kidd, she couldn't get rid of the paranoia. So, she tried to use logic again. There were probably many officers a bout the city right? There have been many deaths, so they would make more patrols on the streets to make sure they caught the killer, right? She bet that if se looked out the window an officer would tell her to get inside.

And she even went out of her way to test it. Slowly, she got out of bed and tip-toed over to the window, seeing that Kidd had left it open. Looking outside, she saw nothing.

But in a blink of an eye, she screamed followed by the ring of a gunshot.

* * *

><p>Credit for Madeline spying on Killer goes to Psycho-the-wolfalien on deviantart. She gave me the wonderful idea. :)<p> 


	73. Chapter 71: Impostor

Just got a new computer since my old one couldn't play Assassin's Creed without crashing (it is five years old). So, trying to beat all games before Christmas since I know I'll be getting number three. Think I can beat all the games with Ezio before then? Probably not.

Alpenwolf: You always have to have a little bit of Killer and Madeline..love...

Shininghearts of Thunderclan: Kidd isn't a heavy sleeper, but that's not went down; good idea though. ;p Oh, and thanks for the edit, helps me out big time. :)

Hitoshirezu Ryu: The Daniel swing-thing was probably OoC for Killer, but hey at least he tried to get out of it before he caved, right?

Animelover007: Madeline can be scary/creepy/annoying, but that's why I love her. :) She everything an obsessed fangirl should be, yes?

Girl-luvs-manga: Gabriella will be saved!

DisillusionedNight: All your questioned will be answered this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 71: Imposter<p>

The echoing of Kidd's pistol still rung in his ears after he snatched it from the nightstand when he heard his summoner mage's screams. It was in a flash, he saw her at the window and a dark shadow dart in, grabbing her quickly. Too bad his bullet didn't nail the mother fucker between those eerie white eyes that glowed brightly from behind the darkness of his hood.

Kidd still heard Gabriella screeching and he leaped from the bed and jumped out the window into the rain. He looked around wildly through the dense fog accumulating from the cold rain and warm weather. It made it difficult to see anything but the light coming from his room, but at least he could hear her. Though, he may have been able to still hear her cry for help, but he could no longer see where then went; the fog and confusing lay out of the town made it near possible to see exactly were the quick kidnapper went.

Then her voice faded away instantly and silence was followed. She was gone; completely gone.

In a fit of uncontrollable rage, Kidd threw the worthless pistol to the ground and then roared to the heavens. "_FU—UCK!_"

"Kidd! What the hell is going on!"

Kidd turned around sharply, seeing Killer at the window. The blonde must have woken up when he heard the gunshot. "She's gone, god fuckin' damn, she's gone!"

"Gabriella's gone? What the fuck, Kidd!" Killer shouted angrily, gripping the window sill violently. "I told you that there was a serial killer in this fucking town! Those bastards are clever and can outsmart almost anyone!"

"You think I don't know that!" Kidd bellowed as his muscles tensed dramatically so every deep line on his pale glistened in the rain.

Killer took the time to calm down, running his fingers through his bangs so his rarely seen face was revealed. "Let's just stop arguing and figure out what to do next. Get you gun," he added, pointing to the muddied weapon.

Kidd took a deep breath in and out then bent over to pick up his pistol and then he went over to the window again. Killer held out a hand to him and Kidd easily accepted it, grabbing the blonde's forearm and Killer did the same. Then with a sharp tug, Kidd was hopping through the window again. He ignored Killer for a moment as the blonde closed the window and he sank down onto the edge of the bed, placing his head in his hands. Then he spoke. "I should have known this would happen…"

Killer sighed, shaking his head as he leaned against a wall. "Kidd, we couldn't have known for sure. So don't blame yourself over it, just focus on getting her back and killing that fucker. It's all we can do now."

"No, seriously," Kidd continued. "I should have known," and then he shifted so he could pull a tiny piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Killer.

Curious, the blonde stepped forward and read the words aloud. "_If she was stolen once, she shall be stole again and forever more…_" Killer trailed off and then looked at Kidd in utter confusion. "What is this, Kidd?"

Slowly, Kidd looked up with a grim expression. "That's my fortune."

Killer stared in shock. "This thing was _your_ fortune? Fuck, yours was more detailed as mine, but mine was a hell a lot creepier. And they both were true, sadly…"

Kidd's brows furrowed together. "What was yours?"

"_You will be stalked forever, on earth and in the afterlife,_" Killer repeated gravely.

Kidd cracked a smile and chuckled lightly.

"This isn't a time to be laughing, you fucking ginger," Killer snapped bitterly. "We have to find your girlfriend, you know."

The smile on Kidd's face instantly melted to a worried frown. Then she slowly stood up and shook his head. "You know what also sucks," he started, and Killer silently waited for Kidd to continue. "She asked if those fortunes were true and I told her they were bullshit."

"Don't beat yourself down, Kidd," Killer tried to calm him down by placing a hand on the red head's shoulder. "She doesn't have to know that, and even if she finds out, it's not your fault. But that aside; I have a plan."

Kidd looked up at the blonde questionably. "And what's that?"

Killer then took a step back and began scratching the back of his head nervously. "Well, it's the only one I know that will work, but I doubt you'll like it…"

* * *

><p>Kidd stood like ice-cold stone in the crowded room, watching as men and women in blue working frantically around the space, writing out reports or hurrying from on desk to another with folders to give to a co-worker or superior. He felt like he should pull out his pistol and shoot everyone in sight, but that was only a force of habit. He was in a fucking police station, for pity's sake; this was just too fucking weird. Killer looked like he felt the same, even though he was the one that brought them here. Hell, even Heat and Wire who were masters at holding a poker face looked uneasy. But no one said anything, at least until Madeline spoke up.<p>

"Raise your hand if you feel out of place," Madeline mumbled and raised her hand slightly, but all ignored her.

"Killer…" Kidd said slowly, glancing at the masked blonde from the corner of his eyes. "Why the hell did you bring me here?"

"The police know more about the serial killer than anyone," Killer replied with a shrug. "It made sense, you know."

"…" Kidd was at a lose of words, but he figured Killer was right; Killer had yet to lead him astray.

Looking around the room, Kidd saw that no one paid attention to him or his crew at all. Expect for one. There was one young officer that came out of an office in the back with folder in hand, but then he stopped in his tracks when he noticed them. Instantly, a look of fear covering his expression as he darted back inside and then he retreated from his safe room because he was pushed out by the man in charge: Commander Burks. Killer had told him about the commanding officer of the town, just in case, but it was a very backwards thing since at the time it was to avoid the man, now it was to seek help from him. It was all new water to Kidd; teaming up with...the law.

The Commander walked calmly over to him with his lackey tagging behind nervously, and when he stood before the pirate group, he simply asked: "Can I help you?"

"…" Kidd still had nothing to say.

Luckily Killer spoke up, but there was still an awkward feeling resonating from his form as he coughed to clear his throat. "Err…well, we think a member of our crew was taken by the serial killer you mentioned before."

"The Black Butcher," Burks named the culprit and gladly started to explain more without the pirates having to threaten him at all; police officers seemed to be more cooperative then Marines apparently. "He takes women at night, as you have experienced. He gets his name thought because his body covered in a black cloak and he butches his victims to pieces in alleyways."

"Sounds like a Jack the Ripper copycat," Heat emotionless commented.

"They do have the same MO, but the type of victim is different." Burk explained. "Jack went after prostitutes; Black only goes after women with red hair and light amber eyes that look almost gold, but there something strange going on to top it all off."

"Talk about the cherry on top," Wire mumbled under his breath.

"Black's victim seem to be slightly…_different_ from time to time." Burks warily said. "Some times the girl doesn't have red hair and only light amber eyes, or the other way around. Then here is the one with both, and it seems that the ones with both are twice as violent."

"So there's a possibility of two killers?" Madeline questioned worriedly. "I hope Gabs is okay…"

Kidd finally found his voice when Gabriella's well being was questioned; he still felt at fault that she was taken, but hell, he was the one who was going to find her. "She is fine and whether there are one, two, or a thousand killers, I'm gonna kill those mother fuckers, all of them."

Burks was silent, but then nodded slowly. "I can help with catching Black."

The young officer's eyes went wide with fright. "Commander! You can't! They're pirates!"

"No, I think I can!" Burks barked back. "This maniac as being killing people for months and if the Marines won't help us kill 'em then I'll turn to a pirate to help!" Then Burks took a deep breath and turned back to Kidd. "Anyway, there are two alleys where bodies always show up. According to the crime scenes, it seems that Black kills his victims there, but there is a problem: they are on opposite sides of town. I don't have the men to go to both. So, if we go to one, then there is a chance—"

"No fucking chances," Kidd snapped angrily. "I have a whole crew that can go to both places."

"Captain…" Heat spoke up warily. "Are you sure it's wise to team up with the law?"

"There's no stopping him," Wire commented, sighing lightly.

Kidd ignored the banter behind him and turned to Killer. "Get the crew ready, we have a fucker to kill and my girl to save."

* * *

><p>Kidd hated waiting; the anticipation was stressful and frustrating. Also, he hated to hide undercover; he wanted his presence to be known so that Black knew he was messing with the wrong guy. And he would pay dearly for it. But this waiting was for Gabriella's sake, so he remained still with his back against the wall and waited for Burks to give the signal.<p>

Burks wasn't lying when he said he had no men to spare; only he and three others could go after the serial killer Black Butcher. Burks and his lieutenant were with Kidd and Killer while Burks's second in command and other officer were with Heat and Chamberlain in the second location, and of course the entire Kidd crew split up in groups around town to stop Blacks if he tried to run from his death stamp. But no matter which location Blacky decided to show up in, Kidd would be there thanks to Madeline's magic. No way this asshole was gonna escape Kidd's death grip.

But it seemed that Kidd wouldn't have to use Madeline's magic at all. Burks gave the silent signal. Black Butcher was here.

In a blurry of red, Kidd dashed from cover and down the narrow allay, seeing in the pale moonlight the dark cloak of Black and also his summoner mage still in the short nightgown she wore to bed the other night. She had a bag over her head, the thickly stitched brown threads hiding her face from him as she struggled to get away from Black's iron grip around her neck.

Kidd growled dangerously, but Black did not flinch at the murderous look; he merely egged him on with a single finger.

With a roar of rage, Kidd chased after the fleeing killer. Behind him, he heard the shouts of the others, but Kidd didn't stop nor did he care, he kept going after Black, and he would not stop under there was blood on his hands.

Then Black all of a sudden stopped, his feet barely toppling over the edge of a cliff. How Kidd didn't notice he left the city was beyond him, or how Black got passed his crew around town, but at the moment it didn't matter because Gabriella was in danger of dying. The butcher knife was placed flush against her skin, not enough to make a mark, yet.

"Easy, Kidd," it was Killer, and a firm hand was placed on his shoulder. "We're between a rock and a hard place, so be careful."

"He's right," Burks added calmly, pointing his revolver at Black threateningly. "We need—"

**Bang!** The echo of the gun rang and the grunt from Black followed at the bullet pierced right between his eyes.

"I'm sick of waiting," Kidd sneered, watching Black's lifeless body crumble to the ground, taking Gabriella's with him. Kidd then darted forward, going to his knees in front of her and then embraced her. She became stiff as stone. "Babe, it's me," he tried to relax her, but she remained the same. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you," he tried to reason as he removed the bag from her head. "I just—"

He stopped his thought completely when the bag was removed and he was staring into the eyes of a completely different woman.


	74. Chapter 72: Silence is Golden

There was going to be a Christmas Special, but I got sick and I finally feel better after a week. So, the special will be posted on New Year's. :)

Vampirelover12100: Thank you for the edit, I'll get around to fixing that soon.

Girl-luvs-manga: It's going to take more than that, sadly.

Alpenwolf: Gabriella's location shall be revealed, but the means to get her will be...bloody.

DisillusionedNight: Thanks for the edit, I fix it when I can. The Black Butcher isn't playing, 'he' means business.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Eh, good theory, but not what's going on exactly. You'll see.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Kidd will get the next serial killer, that's a promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 72: She's <em>mine<em>

Kidd felt as if his mind had gone to mush: Gabriella wasn't with Black the Butcher?_ What the fuck?_ He saw the madman take her from his window the other night, just rip her away from his sight. And he saw her with him moments ago, he knew it was her; there was no mistake, right? _ No._ There was no fucking way he would mistake Gabriella for some other chick, even with a bag over her head: he knew those damn legs anywhere. But, the more Kidd looked down at this woman, the more her saw the similarities between them.

There was a reason only her face of covered, it looked nothing like Gabriella's. The expression on the other woman's face was cold, her black eyes like ice. She looked almost like a warrior and she probably was; she had the battle scars along her cheeks to prove it. And her hair was more orange than red, chopped short by her capture so Kidd wouldn't suspect anything. Kidd would admit this Black Butcher bitch picked out the perfect girl to fool him, and he _hated_ that.

Red flowed back to his vision and he whipped out his pistol once more, jabbing the barrel of the gun to the stiff woman's forehead. His finger on the trigger, he was ready to strike, but then a metal gloved hand pushed his arm away, making the bullet fly into the open air of the sea.

"_Killer,_" Kidd growled murderously, his eyes swarming with blood. "_What the fuck?_"

"Keep calm," Killer replied swiftly. "Don't kill her just yet."

"And why not!" Kidd snapped, trying to move his pistol back to the woman, but Killer's hand held firm.

"Because she is the only one that can lead us to Gabriella," Killer told him calmly. "You killed the other...potential person," and the masked blonde glanced over to the corpse.

Kidd relaxed immensely when he heard that and he put his pistol away silently. Then with a deep breath in and out, he looked back to Killer. "Now what?"

"We look to the body of Black here," Killer jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards the cloaked body as the officers crowded around it while ignoring the pool of blood staining their blue uniforms. "It'll have clues to where she is."

Kidd nodded shortly and looked to Commander Burks, seeing that that man looked uncharacteristically pleased for an officer of the law that Black was killed, not that Kidd minded. The Commander mumbled something bitter under his breath as he started to remove the hood over Black's head. When it was gone, all officers jumped back. The face was no longer recognizable, but parts of a snake tattoo were still there on undamaged flesh.

"But God's Holy Name!" Burk's lieutenant stuttered. "I know that tattoo! It's Captain Slimy John Snake!"

Kidd's brows furrowed in confusion. "Who the hell is that?"

"He was a pirate captain, such as yourself," Burks responded coldly, a deep scowl forming on his wrinkled face. "But three years ago he was caught by the Marines on our island."

"Ah," Killer spoke up. "So he escaped and this was an act of revenge."

"Yes, but…" Burks trailed off slowly. "There should have been no way he could escape the Marines. He was in Impel Down."

Kidd and Killer exchanged shocked looks. The only people to escape Impel Down were because of the idiot Strawhat Luffy two years ago, but before and even after, none had succeeded. So, this whole thing was a set up by someone with a higher authority in a twisted world. That could only mean one thing.

"Gabriella…" Kidd started slowly. "Was taken by the Marines…"

* * *

><p>"I'm gonna kill ya bitch, no matter what that prick tells me," the hiss came out venomously and then the butcher knife was held high in the air above the summoner mage's head.<p>

Gabriella, chained down by diamond infested shackles flinched, waiting for the cold steel's bitter embrace, but it never came. Only the sound of a body hitting the floor was heard. Looking up, she saw the pink hair of one of her captors land on her foot while her other captor's the polished black boot pinned down the first. Gabriella never thought she would be so thankful that a Marine saved her from death by the twisted, insane Cornelia.

She sighed in relief, but then she sucked back in the air when the door to the room opened.

The Marine captain that saved her scowled and looked over his shoulder. "You're plan is absolutely, incredibly stupid, Jonathan," he spat.

"That's Vice Admiral to you, Captain Bevil." Jonathan replied calmly as he walked further into the posh room filled with the finest wears from around the world.

Gabriella thought that the choice of decor was terrible, many because she was raised without the finer things in life and because she had sent so much time on a ship that didn't have very many breakables. But this was no time to thing about the room, so she remained silent. Though, she did keep in mind that some of these breakable items would be good as weapons...

Then her thoughts went to pause when Jonathan continued to answer the captain's question. "And I believe I had permission from my father to do this. _By all means to catch a mage_, is what he said to me."

"Then your father is just a stupid as you are," Captain Bevil snapped. which caused Jonathan to glare sourly at the words. But Bevil showed to sign of caring. "Both of you unleashed three dangers to the world: one was letting Cornelia live when she is a threat and you even _give_ her women to kill."

"Prostitutes," Jonathan said shortly. "Their actions were illegal because they were not under a registered brothel. They would have been killed anyway."

"_No,_" Bevil corrected sternly. "They would have been jailed, not killed! But you don't seem to care since you let out John Snake, a mass murdering pirate captain that was left to rot in Impel Down for a good reason!"

"He's probably already dead," Jonathan sighed. "I made sure the Kidd Pirates did that."

"And that leads me to the third reason," Bevil continued. "You're leading the Kidd Pirates right to our front door!"

Jonathan finally grew angry with the Marine Captain and he pointed stiffly to the open doorway. "_Get out,_" he ordered coldly. "And take _that_ with you. I wish to be alone with Scarlet."

Captain Bevil grunted, but did as he was told and took the unconscious Cornelia and then left the room.

Then it was just Gabriella and the Vice Admiral, and she knew that nothing good could come of him when they were alone. He sat down comfortably beside her on the couch, leaning a bit too close in her personal space; though she could admit it was popped when he entered the room. His fingers probed her body, tracing the silk fabric of the dress that she was put in. It looked to be something made from the Renaissance Era; deep velvet red fabric with lace and jewels decorating the gown like it was a piece of master artwork. Gabriella would have appreciated such a finely made dress, but not when a filthy Marine pig was touching the exposed skin of her chest.

"These are still such nasty scars," Jonathan whispered gingerly as his nail gently dug along the faded red marks. "If you were with me, I could make them go away. All that pain _he _brought you."

Gabriella scowled darkly at the untrue words, but Jonathan didn't seem to notice or care about it.

He simply moved in to try and steal a kiss.

Even though she was in a weakened state, she would not allow that to happen and she used those heavy shackles around her wrists to her advantage and whacked him squarely in the nose.

Sorry, but her lips were taken.

* * *

><p>Back on his ship, Kidd paced quickly in the tiny room that only held one small table with two tiny stools. In was a make-shift interrogation room since the Kidd pirates didn't do much of that, but this was an exception. Though, the woman was being very difficult. She would not speak a word. Granted, he and Killer weren't playing 'good-cop-bad-cop' it was a full game of bad cop, but one cop was calm and the other was aggressive. It was easy to guess who played which.<p>

Kidd, finally fed up with the silence, stopped pacing and slammed his hands on the table and got all up in the other woman's face and roared: "Tell me which mother fucker Marine base they're at!"

The woman did not flinch or falter her cold glare right at him. _So arrogant. _

Killer sighed and slowly leaned against the table and stated: "I know how to make people talk," he told the woman. "How much do you like having all your fingers?"

The woman's glare heightened, but still, she did not speak.

Kidd drew back and sighed loudly in annoyance as he ran a hand through his hair. "This is getting us nowhere."

Killer took a step back and from his belt, pulled out a dagger and twirled it between his fingers. "Let's start with the pinkie."

Kidd looked between his first mate and the woman then nodded. Swiftly, he caught the woman's wrist, pinning it to the table and used his mechanical arm to block her body and other hand from trying to stop it. And all the while, she did not speak as she struggled to get away. But when she saw it was no use, she did the only thing she could: curl her fingers in a tight ball. Kidd then tightened his grip on her wrist, but she toughed through it.

So, Killer used the butt of his dagger and slammed it down on the woman's hand, making all the fingers magically appear again. "Now," the masked blonde spoke up and he placed and placed the palm of his hand to the top of her's, giving him full access to the twitchy digits. "Say something and you won't lose a pinkie or any other fingers for that matter."

The woman merely ground her teeth together to dull the pain from brutal jab from the butt of the dagger.

Killer sighed. "Last chance to speak up; once your finger is gone it's never coming back."

The woman only scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well," Killer huffed. "You asked for it," and he brought the dagger up and then swiftly down.

The blood spurted from the open wound, splattering on any surface it could find. Red pooled around her hand, staining it more as if flinched wildly, making the woman's eyes open wide with pain, but she bit her lip harsh to avoid screaming in pain.

"Ready to talk now?" Killer questioned.

The woman forced a scowl on her pain stricken face.

"The next one, Killer," Kidd ordered.

Killer nodded, but before he could slice the next finger from the captive's hand, there was a knock on the door.

"Go away!" Kidd barked then looked to Killer, jerking his head towards the woman's hand.

But there was another sharp knock to the door. "_But Captain!_" It was Jeremy on the other side. "_I know how to make the woman speak!_"

"So do I!" Kidd shouted back. "Do it now Killer!"

"_Without violence!_" Jeremy countered.

"I don't care!" Kidd sneered. "Killer, now!"

But Killer had put away his dagger and looked to the door. "Come in, Jeremy."

"Killer you pansy!" Kidd screamed angrily. "Don't be such a pussy and cut off her damn finger or I'll do it my self!"

Killer looked back to Kidd sternly. "Let's try a calmer way; violence didn't seem to be working anyway. But if this doesn't work we'll cut off her entire hand."

Kidd pondered the idea. "Okay," that seemed like a reasonable deal. So, Kidd stepped away from his harsh grip over the woman and leaned against a wall and watched.

Jeremy slowly walked into the room, staring at the sight of all the blood and the woman clutch her bloody, pinkie-less hand to her chest. The teen seemed to have come prepared and ushered in Doc, but Kidd sent him a harsh look. But Doc Dick merely ignored the implied order and applied basic first aid to the woman's hand while Jeremy sat down on the other side of the table from the room.

He placed a book on the table and opened it quickly before he began to speak. "You are a woman warrior from the island Dogbane's Grotto," he stated, making the woman look up at him in shock. "I could tell by the tattoo on your shoulder, I got a glimpse of it."

The woman glanced away from the teen, her uninjured hand going to hide the tattoo exposed on her bare shoulder.

"It is of a sword and spear the cross, correct?" Jeremy continued. "It is a symbol that you are a warrior for your island home. But there is also an olive branch, which is the symbol for your name; it is like your country's form of dog-tags. So, I'm guessing your name is Olive, yes?"

The woman remained silent and simply took her bandaged hand away from the doctor and clutched it to her chest again.

Jeremy coughed and then continued. "You were trained from a young age to show no fear towards men, especially to powerful ones that threaten you, which is why the Marines are not your ally and most pirates are not welcomed. The women population of the island also governs your home, so you should know who to be diplomatic as well, correct?"

The woman was silent, but only for a moment. Finally, she spoke. "You know too much for your own good," she said with a thick accident.

Jeremy smirked lightly. "Maybe, but this is not about me, but rather Gabriella also known as Exotic Scarlet. Do you know where she is?"

"I do," the woman replied emotionlessly.

Kidd took a step forward, but Killer held him back. A quick glance to his side, he saw his first mate shake his head, so Kidd went back to the wall to allow Jeremy to finish.

"Then can you tell us where?" Jeremy questioned.

"I will, but," she added. "Under one condition."

"Which will be?" Jeremy asked.

"You take me to my home…but no more_ harm_ can come to me," she stressed the word as she looked towards Killer and Kidd, his grip tightening on her hand.

Jeremy first looked back to his superiors and he saw the slightest nod from each of them, or at least he thought he did. But there was no going back because he turned back to the woman and nodded. "We agree to these terms. Now, guide us."

The woman smirked wickedly. "Gladly."


	75. Special: Merry-Late-Christmas

...

Yeah, this is late. Like, _super_ late. I'm sorry, but this break was hectic for me. I got it out though, right? So, I hope you enjoy this little special.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

* * *

><p>Special: Merry Christmas!<p>

Caden woke with a flash as soon as his eyes cracked open to see the bright whiteness coming through his window. And he darted out of bed that moment: it was Christmas morning. Excitement rushed through every one of his bones as he ran throughout the house with Hamish tailing right behind him. The puppy yapped happily thinking they were in a game of tag, but then Caden suddenly skidded to a stop when they reached the living room. Looking around in awe, Caden gasped in delight when he saw the scene.

The Christmas tree twinkled with all the lights and the star placed at the top shined with joy as he stared at all the presents under the family tree's pine needles. All his presents sat there temptingly, just waiting to be opened, almost begging him to shred the paper to pieces. He just couldn't wait to dig in, but he had to wake his parents up; it was tradition after all.

"_**Mom! Dad!**_" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he raced to the other side of the house where his parents' room was. "_**Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!**_" And then he burst through the door, jumping onto the bed and then onto his dad's back.

Caden clung to the bare back of his dad, making a deep growl come from papa Eustass. Kidd would not move an inch and continued to keep his face smothered to his pillow and his body stiff as stone. "_Get. Off._" He grumbled; he was not a morning person, especially at six thirty.

"Get. _Up_. And I will," Caden replied simply.

Kidd grunted irritably, annoyed with his son clinging to him like a monkey, and also Hamish for barking up a storm at the foot of the bed because the puppy had trouble jumping up to be with the family.

Gabriella giggled and crawled over to the side of the bed, making Kidd grunt because she had to go over him, and then she scooped up her little Hammie and placed him on the bed between her and her husband. To which, the puppy proceed to jump onto Kidd as well, curling up in a tight ball besides Caden.

Kidd, frustrated, finally got up, making Hamish slip off his back instantly, but Caden still clung to him, tightening his grip so he wouldn't fall. Kidd groaned, completely irritated.

"Stop being such a grouch," Gabriella huffed, punching her husband lightly on the arm. "It's Christmas."

Kidd simply grunted.

Gabriella sighed, shaking her head lightly. "The faster we get done with presents, the faster you can get your Christmas drunk on."

Kidd was silent for a moment. "Okay, let's go," and he got out of bed with Caden still clinging to his back while Hamish followed at his heels.

* * *

><p>Caden sat impatiently on the floor, fidgeting in front of his first wrapped present. He and his dad were waiting on his mom, who had gone off to the bathroom quickly for some reason, probably to put on make up or whatever. But Caden didn't care what the reason was though; he just wanted her to hurry up. His dad, on the other hand, seemed to be fine since he had his cup o'joe and flask of whiskey to spike it with. So much for waiting until after presents were done.<p>

Caden pouted with an annoyed huff, his hands on the big wrapped box and slid it along the floor. But then he looked back up at his father watching his dad spike his coffee with even more whiskey. "Can I have some?" He asked, just for kicks.

Kidd glanced up at him. "You know it has alcohol, right?" He told his son.

"Yes," Caden chirped shortly.

Kidd huffed and held out the mug to his son. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Caden's eyes opened wide when his dad so easily handed his spiked coffee over to his six-year-old, but Caden didn't pass it up, even though it was...slightly wrong. But before he could even take a sip his mom came back to the living room, a weak scowl on her pale face.

"Don't you dare," she warned her son as she wrapped her robe tightly around her body for warmth.

Caden quickly handed the coffee over to his dad; last thing he wanted to do was get in trouble on Christmas.

Kidd took the mug back, but his focus was completely on his wife, a worried look crossing his features. "You okay, babe?"

"I threw up," she replied as she sat down on the floor beside him and pulled out a camera from the pocket of her robe. "But it's nothing. I feel better now since I took some medicine and brushed my teeth."

"…Alright," Kidd replied slowly. "If you say so," and he rubbed her back comfortingly.

Gabriella sent him a small smile and then turned back to Caden. "Okay baby, you can open your presents, but not too fas—"

But before she could even finish her sentence, he little boy had already started to dig through his presents in a flurry of wrapping paper shreds.

* * *

><p>Caden happily looked a bout the piles of toys he had stacked all around him like a castle. Though, he had to wait for his dad to open some of them since they needed an adult to put them together. So, he had to wait, but luckily he had Hamish to help pass the time. The puppy had gotten some presents, like a new tennis ball since his old one was tearing at the seams. Caden tossed the ball gently into the mount of wrapping paper that was yet to be cleaned up. Hamish then would run after it, digging through the paper to find where the ball had disappeared. Caden found the scene to be entertaining enough, but then he paused when he saw his mom come into the room with a grim look.<p>

"I'm gonna go out," was all she said as she slipped on her heavy winter coat.

Kidd looked up from working on helping Caden with all his…'_some-assembly-required_' presents, his brows knotted together in confusion. "Going? Going where?"

"Madeline's," Gabriella replied shortly as she adjusted her hat atop her head and then walked towards the door briskly.

"She need you for something?" Kidd continued to question as he watched her leave.

"No," she corrected. "I need her," and then she was gone in the winter flurry of Christmas noon.

Kidd brows furrowed more in confusion, and he looked ready to drop everything to go after her, but he stayed put. "Strange woman," he huffed and then he went back to work on opening Caden's toys, but then he stopped. Here, while he was doing all the work, he saw Caden playing in the wrapping paper with Hamish, ignoring his toys completely. He scowled. "Are you even going to play with this?"

"Later," Caden replied; he had to wait for his dad to open it after all.

But his dad didn't seem to understand that as he scoffed in annoyance and went to his small stack of presents. Caden scowled at his watched his dad stop with opening the boxes and then rooted through his own presents, but then Caden saw what his dad wanted.

Caden instantly stopped playing with Hamish, making the puppy whine sadly, and Caden crawled over to his dad, placing his nose on his papa's thigh to watch him open the legendary AO game. He thought they were only a myth, something only on paper just in case, yet here, in 'person', one sat in his father's hands. The picture showcasing the horror scene of rotting, disease infested zombies that were controlled by blood thirsty vampires, surrounding a single man with only a pistol to protect himself and of course a screaming woman clinging to the hero's leg like a nagging weight.

"Whoa," was all Caden could say.

Kidd looked down at his son curiously. "What?"

"Can I play?" Caden asked anxiously, looking up at his dad with large golden eyes; it was a multi-player game as well.

Kidd looked at him in shock. "You know this is an _Adult Only_ game, right?"

"Yes," Caden chirped mischievously.

Kidd sighed and shook his head. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

><p>Kidd was surprised that Caden was able to handle the gory game; with all the guts and curse words flying a bout, Kidd would have thought that Caden would have been running to the hills to hide. But his son stayed firm, his eyes wide and a large smirk as he killed off zombies with bullets to blow out brains and staking vampires through the heart. Kidd wondered if his son was slightly messed up for acting like this… Nah, his little man was normal, nothing wrong with liking and watching a little mature gore. Though, Kidd did have to draw the line and cover Caden's eyes, along with mute the game, when a full on sex scene came on. His boy didn't need to see <em>that<em> just yet; ten more years and it will be okay.

After that though, Caden was allowed to watch to his hearts content, but then Kidd paused the game when he heard this.

Caden screamed: "Die motherfucker!"

Kidd stopped everything and looked at his son, blinking in confusion. "Where'd you learn _that_ word?" He questioned coldly.

Caden's brow rose curiously. "Where do ya think? Dannie? No, he barely talks. Tanner? Fuck no; his dad's too much a pussy to curse in front of him, unlike you, which is who I learned curse words from, by the way. This ain't_ A Christmas Story_, dad; I'm gonna say it was you."

Kidd blinked. "Don't tell mom."

"Gotcha," Caden smirked and added. "And don't tell mom I played this."

"Gotcha," Kidd repeated.

And then like a ninja at night, Gabriella crouched between them with a twitchy smile. "Tell me what, _hmm?_" She asked, but she already knew.

"Oh shit," both Eustass men muttered.

* * *

><p>They thought they would get in more trouble, but surprisingly they didn't, but it had nothing to do with Christmas spirit. Gabriella was sick and she didn't feel like fighting because she had major headaches and stomachaches. All she wanted to do was relax on the couch and watch holiday movies with Hamish curled up at her side. Though, she watched Caden instead, her son happily playing a more appropriate game for his age. Also, she spent time ordering Kidd around since he was left in charge of making Christmas dinner. The red head was not happy with that since he wasn't the best cook on the block; the family would be lucky if he didn't burn everything.<p>

"I hate this," Kidd grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance, even though he was pretty much done already.

"You're doing fine…" Gabriella weakly called from her spot on the couch. "You did everything I told you, now you just need to watch the time. Make sure you don't burn the ham; this isn't _A Christmas Story_ and I'm not in the mood to go out to dinner."

Kidd threw his head back and groaned. He looked up at the ceiling, waiting for time to tick by and then the timer finally went off. Kidd grunted, happy that it was done, but when he pulled the ham from the oven he saw from the corner of his eyes Gabriella shoot up and dart for the bathroom holding her mouth like her life depended on it.

Kidd blinked in confusion, glancing at the ham and then the hallway his wife disappeared down. "Is it _that_ bad?" He asked his son.

Caden shook his head. "I think its fine."

Kidd huffed. "Strange woman."

* * *

><p>After Gabriella left, she didn't come back. Kidd didn't worry about it at first, but when she didn't come to dinner, he started to worry. Caden was preoccupied with his game and the small plate of food at his side that he took little nibbles from every once in awhile. So, Kidd went on a hunt for his wife, carrying a plate of heated food with him.<p>

The door to their room was closed, and Kidd stood before it, rapping his knuckles against it shortly. "Gabriella," he called. "You in there, babe?"

There was no reply, but Kidd went in anyway and there under all the covers was Gabriella along with Hamish curled up in a tight ball besides her. He couldn't see her face with the blankets, but he could see that her tanned skin was pale.

Placing the plate of food to the side, Kidd crawled into bed next to her and moved the blankets away to see her face. "You okay?"

She nodded slowly with a thin frown. "Just exhausted…"

"You look…sad," Kidd commented.

"I'm sick," she corrected. "But happy," she added with a small, but sincere smile.

"Caden was really happy with all he got," Kidd continued.

"He is, that's good," she sighed, snuggling up further into the blankets.

"And I got something special for you," Kidd remembered, getting up and went to his nightstand drawer. "I was gonna give you it, eh, tonight…you know…_but_ I think that now is better," and he handed her a small, but long black velvet box.

Gabriella retreated from her blankets and took the box and slowly opened it, revealing a golden bracelet nestled in a plush white pillow. She gasped in shock, a hand covering her mouth when she looked closer, seeing the intricate design craved into each little block of gold that locked onto the next. "Kidd…" was the only she was able to say.

He smirked at her reaction. "Like it?" And he took her speechlessness as a yes, and then he moved in to take the bracelet from the box and clipped it around her wrist.

Gabriella admired the piece of fine jewelry. "I didn't get you anything special like this…" she trailed off, a thoughtful look crossing her features.

"Well," Kidd clicked his tongue and smirked deviously as he leaned in close to her. "I can think of something…"

Gabriella then suddenly cock-blocked him as she pushed him away slightly. "I have something, though, but it's not _that,_" she said with a nervous smile. "I was going to say this _a lot_ later, but I think now is the best time."

Kidd's brow rose with curiosity. "And what's that?"

Gabriella took a deep breath in and then out. "Okay, relax," she sighed, grabbing his hands tightly and gave the big news. "I'm pregnant."


	76. Chapter 73: Fire

I'm glad everyone liked the late Christmas special.

robin3zoro: I'm glad you like the story, and the updates are the same as Bones.

hennahlebrette: I'm glad you like what I have in those chapters.

Girl-luvs-manga: Jeremy for the win! Nerd power, or negotiations skills.

Alpenwolf: So, now Kidd needs to kill all the Marines to stop his fortune from coming true again. Sounds easy enough, eh?

Shiningheart of Thunderclan: Thank you for the edit, and Jonathan does have a death wish, but when will he die...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Originally, I wasn't going to have Killer cut her pinkie, Jeremy was going to interrupt just in time, but I scratched that idea. :D

Vampirelover12100: Thank you for the edit.

I feel as if this chapter is bad. I will probably come back to it this week to edit because I am not happy with it. Hopefully you guys aren't disappointed.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 73: Fire.<p>

At the helm of the ship, Chamberlain glanced over at the new woman to grace the Kidd Pirates' presences. She paid no heed to the stares she received from the crew, their irises swimming with lust because they have gone far too long without the warmth of a woman in their bed. She simply kept her eyes straight ahead; she didn't even look at him as she gave him instructions on where to go. All she did was hold her bandaged hand to her chest, the pinkie no longer visible under all the gauze padding. Killer and Kidd had gone too far, in his personal opinion; violence was a last resort and knowing his friends, well, they made it the _first_ resort. Ultimately though, Kidd got what he wanted because Olive hated the Marines just as much as pirates did.

Chamberlain was curious of why that was, and he decided to ask for the heck of it, even if Olive wouldn't answer; she might, maybe. "Why is it that your people hate the Marines so much?"

Olive glanced over at him, her dark eyes staring him down narrowly. She continued her glare before looking back to the ocean, her harsh look softening lightly. He thought she was ignoring him, but then she spoke. "Because the men in the Marines are power-hogs," she answered simply in a deep accented tone. "They think that since they have a supreme order all around the world, everyone must follow the rules they create. But that is not fair, now is it."

Chamberlain shrugged. "If that's how you see it. Personally, I don't give a damn; I never followed the Marines 'rules' anyway."

Olive scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "The same goes for me, but I do care since the Marines harass my people on a daily basis! Why do you think we were captured?"

Chamberlain looked at her directly and bluntly stated: "Breaking the rules."

"Hardly," she huffed in return. "We were following the rules of _our_ country; which don't go parallel with the guidelines that Marines have in place."

"I see," Chamberlain shortly said. "And what was it that you were doing, exactly."

"Relieving a merchant vessel of its weightily supplies," Olive curtly answered.

Chamberlain glanced at her, his brow rising slightly. "So, you your people were being…pirates."

"No," Olive corrected harshly. "A pirate steals for greed, but my people take because we need to survive. Every since those red demons of our lands took her Majesty's lamp we haven't been able to thrive in our desert climate."

Chamberlain blinked. "You mean genie lamp?"

Olive paused. "Maybe, and don't even think of telling that damn Captain of yours," she said, jerking her head towards the red head.

Glancing away from the now grouchy woman, Chamberlain looked towards his captain. Kidd stood like stone against as he leaned against the railing of the ship, his eyes locked onto the moonlight horizon. Ever since they got the location of the correct Marine base, Lone-Range Base, Kidd had barely left the deck. He was waiting for the moment he saw the thick stone walls of the fortress and said the one word the crew wanted to hear: fire.

Kidd was going to bombard the Marine base with cannon balls. Many would have thought it been unwise since Gabriella was inside, but Olive knew the location of where the dungeons were; underground. Cannonballs would barely affect them at all; Gabriella would be safe.

Hopefully; Killer, along with Chamberlain, had their doubts with the idea, but when Kidd had his mind on an idea, it was hard to drive him off the path unless he had a better plan and currently there was not another plan.

"_**LAND-HO!**_" the look out called from his post.

Kidd moved like a machine as soon as the words were said; screaming orders to the crew to prepare the cannons. It was time for bloody war.

* * *

><p>The room was dank and smelled of rusted metal and thick iron; crimson iron. Blood. Blood stained the floor making it stick against the bare soles of her feet. It was a massacre in the room; chains hung from the ceiling like jungle vines and giant hooks swung back and forth gently on the shorter chains, with the remains of body parts hanging from them. And she too, was tied to one of these chains; her hands high above her head, the sharp metal cutting into her skin to make it raw as the single chain of her shackles lounged across the think iron hook, barely holding her up. It was as if she was a prime cut of beef hanging in a butcher shop. She struggled with keeping herself up, forced to stand on the balls of her feet so she wouldn't dislocate a shoulder. It was painful, but the only reason why she got here was because Jonathan had tried to bed her one too many times and paid dearly for it; a broken nose, two black eyes, and fractured arm and leg, and of course, a very sore groin. Finally, the Vice Admiral got enraged at her and threw her into a…<em>special<em> dungeon.

"This is what I'll do to ya," Cornelia hissed murderously, pressing her butcher knife to the neck of a whimpering woman.

Though, the woman couldn't even be called a woman; she was only a girl, a young girl, barely into her late teens. Tears stained her tanned skin and blood matted her orange hair in all different angels. Fear was vivid in her dark eyes, stuck in the same position as the summoner mage, but worse since the girl was forced to watch her friends die before her eyes. One by one, and then she was left to suffer slowly just so Cornelia could show the summer mage the large gashed adored the girl's dirty skin and dried blood was caked to every exposed place on her body; this is what the insane woman wanted to do to her.

The girl shivered wildly, turning her head away to try and avoid the sharp blade, but to no prevail since the knife was pushed further into her skin.

"I'll do it nice'in slow," Cornelia whispered wickedly with a twisted smirk, her eyes locked onto the summoner mage, yet her blade mechanically continued push further into the girl's neck, making the poor thing cry out in pain as blood started to seep down. "I'll cut yur neck off first, just like in my practice. I want there ta be pain as I slice yur arms an legs from yur off; I'll cut ya to bits. I'll _make_ Kidd regret he chose ya."

Gabriella scowled darkly and simply stated: "You are a crazy bitch."

Cornelia's cold blade retreated from the sobbing girl's neck and it was then at the summoner mage's in a heartbeat. "I'll make ya eat them words!" She snapped.

Gabriella wasn't going to show this woman she was scared. Granted in the situation, hells, she was _terrified_, but she had seen worse. She had been to the hells where demons and devils dwelled. They did worse than any man, or woman in this case, of this Earth could do.

Then the butcher knife left her skin, and Cornelia's scream rung in her ears as her body fell to the ground.

It was Captain Bevil; he was never to far when it came to Cornelia. The man thought his superior officer was stupid, which he was. He tried to steal a woman using another woman that hated the first and wanted to see her dead. It wasn't smart at all, but this man thought it worked just because Gabriella was in his dungeons. But that would change, she knew it would.

Once Bevil left with his unconscious prize, the girl's tears suddenly grew louder and she wailed. "I'm gonna die! I don't wanna die!"

Gabriella just stared at the girl's hysterics, yet it was understandable since she was young and watched all her friends die.

Cornelia hacked away at the three other girls that had been in here when the summoner mage had come and the hooks filled with even more bodies. One of them looked to be prostitutes, begging for her life while another was calmer, even vicious acting. They all looked the same, same as the girl only older; long orange hair and tanned skin with piercing brown eyes. It was as if they were all sisters; sisters in arms: warriors.

"Stop crying," Gabriella finally spoke up, her words soft to the young girl. "It'll be okay. I'm sure Captain Bevil won't let you die."

"He didn't stop for the others," she sobbed, her body trembling from head to toe as she hung her head low. "Why would he save me? They say we're just as bad as pirates; they even called us whores!"

"Shh," Gabriella hushed, her maternal instincts kicking in, and she repeated: "It'll be okay."

"H—how do you know that…?" The girl questioned, looking up at the summoner mage hopefully.

Gabriella didn't get to answer that because a giant cannon ball came flying through the wall, causing her to see nothing but black.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Killer, Heat!<strong>" Kidd roared in the height of battle, his crew rushing passed him to clash with the Marines trying to defend their territory. "**Make sure no one makes it out of here alive!**"

The two understood there orders and nodded briefly to their captain before rushing off ahead in battle. The rallied the crew, making sure they didn't cause too much damage yet; they still needed to find Gabriella. And she better be alive. But according to Madeline and Bedros, she would be kept alive as long as the Marines could, and then the Council would stamp her with a death wish and she would die; there was no escaping that. So, the crew had to rein it in just a small tad, the cannon fire caused enough havoc and damage that the Marines would be fully focused there, and not their dungeons.

With a sweeping glance, Kidd saw that everything was under…_control_, which was a term to be loosely, even now. But he tossed that to the back of his mind and turned to Chamberlain, Madeline and Olive. "Let's go," he ordered.

Olive nodded quickly and then with a swift twist of her heel, she dashed off in the direction of entrance to the dungeons. Along the way, she explained it was an underground entrance since it was used to ship off the dead bodies of inmates that died...unquestionably, but the main purpose of it was so the Marines didn't make the civilians to see the sight of bloody, broken men going through the streets of town; or so that is what Olive heard. She heard rumors about smuggling going on in there, human trafficking for the slave auctions and that someone with power was in charge of it.

That bit was interesting, but Kidd truthfully didn't care about the reasoning since when he was done here there would be no streets and civilians to worry about or inmates left to smuggle away to world nobles.

So, Olive continued on, darting through alleys that hadn't been exposed to the flames, and then dodging stray, return fire from the Marines cannons. Then finally they reached the hidden door, but it was covered by fallen scraps of sheet metal. This was no obstacle for Kidd, but when the metal was removed and the doors opened; smoke billowed out in a steady stream.

"_Shit_," he hissed, biting his tongue when he saw that the fire was spreading faster than he wanted.

"Told you it was a bad idea," Olive scoffed as she ripped a large piece of cloth from the cloak she was given. Then she placed it over her mouth and jumped into the smoke.

Madeline then peered down, a frown on her lips. "I don't sense Gabs down there..."

Kidd looked between Madeline and the smoke pit, and he hesitated, looking at the toxic smoke with calculating eyes. He could choke to death on the smoke in that type of environment without proper protect…but so could Gabriella. Common sense then let his senses and he rushed into the smoke with Chamberlain and Madeline at his heels.

The bitter smoke of fire clung to his throat instantly, making him want to cough but he held it in and buried his nose and mouth into the crock of his arm. He stumbled through the smoke, and he felt the hands of both Chamberlain and Madeline clinging to his coat. He would have been annoyed by that, but he cast it aside; no was not to snap at pity things. And he continued on, looking as far as he could through the smoke, but all he could see were bodies. They were dressed in classic prison strips, and they were also lifeless. They were all dead.

Panic started to rise up in his throat; he wanted to vomit then and there, but then something saved him from keeling over.

"She isn't here!" He heard Olive scream from high above him.

He jerked his head up, seeing that Olive had climb up a set of stairs that led higher into the fortress. He was thankfully to hear that she wasn't there; but he should have guessed she wasn't there since Madeline said she didn't sense her. And then that struck a cord; if she wasn't there, then _where_ was she?

* * *

><p>Gabriella's body hit the stone ground hard after being thrown through the air brutally from the cannon ball impaling the outer wall of the fortress. She coughed violently, hacking up blood from the bitter pain jabbing her square in the back. But, on the bright side, she was no longer dangling from a hook like a piece of meat, but on the darker side, she was trapped who knows how many floors high with fire all around her.<p>

The beams of wood supporting the ceiling started to crumble under the weight as the fire ate away at the structure's life lines. She panicked at the situation and she stumbled up onto her feet; she would have just teleported out of there, but she needed a way to get these stupid diamond shackles off first.

As her mind quickly ran through ideas, and also trying to keep her calm, she heard the soft crying of the young girl in the background. The idea clicked; her ticket for escape. Gabriella tried to run to the girl, but after hours of hanging from the hook awkwardly left her feet feeling numb. Not deterred, the summoner mage then began to crawl over to the girl's sobbing form, but when she got there, she saw that the girl's body was covered in debris that fell from the ceiling. Weak as she already was, she didn't know if she would have the strength to even move one board away from the young girl, but she had to try.

Even with the shackles limiting her movement, she tried to move the boards, at least lift them a bit for the girl to crawl out to safety. But it just left outcome: it was impossible. She was too weak in her current state and there was just too much heavy wood to remove. Gabriella was now out of options. She could move from that spot; she was stuck there waiting for someone to save her. It was unlikely to even happen, but when she looked up, she saw a dark shadow in between the flickering orange flames; she thought it was Captain Bevil, since he was never to far away, but sadly she was mistaken.

It was Cornelia.

The insane woman was burned to the point where she skin was bleeding, but that did not effect her. Her and still clutched her butcher knife and a wild looked burned in her eyes just like the flames dancing around her. Then her smile curled into a large, smiling sneer. "I'm gonna kill ya now, bitch," she seethed wickedly. "There's no one here ta save ya," and she she started to walk over to the summoner mage, enjoying the looking coming to Gabriella's golden eyes. "Ya will die by my blade, but ta fire will eat ya...he'll neve' know wat happened ta ya..." Then she loomed over the summoner mage, her from under complete shadow save for eyes that seemed to glow red. "_Neve_'..." she whispered as she raised her blade high above her head.

Gabriella looked up, her eyes wide, but then her gaze left Cornelia and to what was behind her. Chains started to move, as if they were snakes and rose all around the insane woman. Cornelia didn't even know what hit her; she didn't have the time. The chains darted at her quickly, wrapping around her like a boa constrictor. Crack, crack, crack went her bones and then the chains dropped her lifeless body to the ground.

Gabriella left out a heavy breath, scooting back at the butcher knife slid to her feet; it was over, but only that part.

"Gabs!" It was Madeline that called her and then suddenly the thin summoner mage was kneeling down in front of her and hugging her to death.

"Is that...Cornelia?" The questioning voice of Chamberlain asked to the shadows beside him. "So she was the real Black Butcher..."

"Bell!" A foreign name was called but an equally foreign voice next to the tall navigator.

Then the young girl cried out; "Olive! I'm over here!"

And from the smoke and flames came a woman dressed in a dark cloak that was filthy with ash and singed by the fires. She ignored the discomforts thought and easily lifted the boards to help the girl escape.

Gabriella was confused, and stared at the scene as Bell sobbed to Olive over what happened to her; this was all to fast, all to sudden, and...all to empty. This was no time to worry of that; they needed to get out of here before the building came down. But then suddenly Madeline was yanked from her form and then Gabriella was hoisted up onto her feet and then she was in strong arms. The emptiness was gone even though no words were said, but she knew who it was; she could tell by the warmth that is was Kidd holding her. She closed her eyes, finally feeling safe at last and cling to him tightly, but then he suddenly pushed away. She looked up at him blankly, but then saw his focus was on the shackles and he used his devil fruit powers to jam the locks and open them up and the metal fell to the floor at her feet.

Then he swiftly wrapped an arm around her back and the other under her legs and scooped her up. "We're leaving," he said. "Madeline open a portal."

"Okay," the thin summoner mage replied and hurried to do as he said.

"Wait!" Olive screeched with rage. "We still have a Marine to kill, that Vice Admiral that captured my people, _killed_ my people. He is the one that did this!"

"You can go do that," Kidd replied emotionlessly as he glanced over his shoulder. "But I'm taking her to see Doc. Do as you want, but my ship isn't staying here long."

Olive trembled with rage, but then her look softened when Bell tugged on the hem of her cloak.

"Olive, I want to go," Bell cried weakly. "Please, I just want to go."

Olive was silent, but then she turned her head away and tched. "Fine," and then she helped her fellow warrior and they followed Kidd through the portal and out of the burning base.


	77. Chapter 74: Desert Paradise

I got sick...again. So, I'm not in the mood to like, type, anything. But I got this chapter done because I'd feel bad if I didn't, though this may not be good. Also, replies will be weak.

robin3zoro: You're welcome.

Alpenwolf: If Kidd puts his mind to it, he could kill all the Marines (probably not).

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Eh...Jonathan, getting away? Yeah...

Girl-luvs-manga: Now he gets a kiss. :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Kidd is the one that killed Cornelia, but Madeline is the one that led them there, so it is thanks to her, I guess.

**P.S.: Bones and His Heir are not on the same wavelength, as in the times are different.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 74: Desert Paradise<p>

Captain Bevil sat comfortably in his seat while sipping at a warm cup of tea; it was orange, something new, but not unpleasant. Though, this warm beverage didn't help his mood. His composure on the outside seemed calm, almost careless, but on the inside he was vivid with rage. This was the second _this_ happened to his men, and there was only one man to blame for both massacres, to which the one to blame had to crawl into the captain's quarters due to heavy injury.

"Permission to speak, Vice Admiral Jonathan?" Bevil asked coolly.

Jonathan looked up, his black eye twitching with pain or annoyance; which one, Bevil did not know, probably both. Jonathan did not say anything and merely waved a hand approvingly as he struggled to stand up using the support of a nearby chair.

"How does it feel to have thousands of men die because of your stupidity?" He questioned ever so politely, but the sneer on his lips made the question more cynical than it already was.

Jonathan scowled darkly at him, his eyes looking relatively murderous, but the black eyes took away from the deadly stare. "_Get out,_" Jonathan ordered coldly and pointed sharply to the door. "And do something usefully and set course to HQ."

Bevil said nothing, but he felt a small bit satisfaction from seeing Jonathan's face, yet it was not enough for men that lost their lives because this idiot was trying to catch a mage. Personally, Bevil thought it was stupid to go after people that wanted nothing to do with the Marines, but what the Boss wanted, the Boss got since Admiral Julian actually captured a mage in the past, a pryomancer, if Bevil remembered correctly. This was how the mage recruiting division started; Julian used this mage to convince the Marines that they were useful. But, then that mage mysterious died shortly after, which was concluded that magical Council's doing. And that gave Julian more the reason to take them in; to save them, he said. Bevil saw it as an excuse to capture them, and the Council to protect their secrets. Though, there was nothing Bevil could do about it but listen to his superiors.

"_And get me the doctor!_"

Bevil sighed deeply and shook his head; he had to listen to his superiors, which was to set course to HQ and get the doctor. So, he would head to the helm and met with the navigator, but he'd take his time getting that doctor.

* * *

><p>"…and then Winnie the Pooh and Piglet sat in silence as they watched the sunset from under their favorite tree on the hill. The end," Gabriella concluded as she slowly closed the book she had been reading to her boys.<p>

"Winnie the Pooh may not be a smart bear such as me," Benjamin the tiny brown bear stated. "But he is quite a silly bear that loves honey."

Gabriella giggled, patting the little bear on the head lovingly, which made Hamish rather jealous and the puppy whined to get the summoner mage's attention. To which earned the puppy a pat on the head as well, along with a quick scratch behind his floppy ears.

"Gabriella…" Daniel spoke up; shaking the arm he was clinging to so he could grab her attention. "Can you read another one?"

"But it's bedtime, baby," Gabriella countered, reaching to stroke the back of his head and ruffle his blonde hair. "You have to hurry off to bed."

"Can we stay the night here, then?" Daniel then asked eagerly.

Hamish barked happily at the idea since for the past few days Kidd had made him sleep in his basket on the floor rather than at the foot of the bed.

"I would like that as well," Benjamin the bear added his two cents. "This bed is quite larger than our other one; plus Miss Madeline mumbles crude thinks about First Mate Killer in her sleep."

Gabriella stared blankly at the bear.

"Do not fret. Daniel cannot hear the words like I can; my sense of hearing is of a higher quality for I am a bar after all."

"Ah, that's good," Gabriella sighed; she didn't want to give her little boy '_the talk_' just yet…

"So, can we stay the night?" Daniel repeated with a large smile. "_Pretty please_, Gabriella."

Hamish woofed again as he fidgeted in his spot on her lap.

"It would be a nice change of pace, most definitely," Benjamin added.

Gabriella felt a bead of sweat trickle down her cheek. "I don't know… Kidd—"

And speak of the devil, the door then suddenly opened and he was standing there with an emotionless look painted on his face. "Anyone who doesn't live here, out," he ordered sternly.

Daniel and Benjamin quickly scurried out of bed and then rushed to the door in a flash when they saw the sight of the captain and his unknown mood, but Hamish sat there smugly on Gabriella's lap, almost smirking. The puppy _did_ live in this room, after all.

"You too, Hamish," Kidd then added, making the puppy's ears droop and he whined sadly. Kidd rolled his eyes at the tiny puppy that slowly dragged his paws across the floor. "Stop acting like a baby; you can see her later. _Now, git!_" He snapped, using the side of his foot to quickly scoot the puppy out of the room, making Hamish yelp in surprise and the howl with loneliness on the other side of the door as it was closed.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Gabriella pointed out with a tiny pout as she pulled all the blankets over her form.

Kidd simply shrugged as he walked over to her. "Jeremy says we'll be reaching Dogbane soon, and about time, too," he scoffed, irritated. "Those damn girls are getting on my nerves. Olive's a bitch."

"Because you cut her pinkie off," Gabriella cut in.

Kidd ignored her. "And that chick Bell is a sobbing fool. _Geez_, what a cry baby."

Gabriella was silent and merely flopped down into bed and pulled all the blankets over her head. "It's late, and I wanna sleep. So, I won't go on the island until morning."

"I'd rather you go," Kidd countered, leaning over so he could push away the blankets covering her face. "After what happened, I want you at my sides at all time," and he kissed her gently.

She shook her head to escape his advances for a deeper kiss. "I don't wanna be a burden," she mumbled, pulling the blankets over her face again.

Kidd sighed, closing his eyes with a small shake of his head. "You are _not_ a burden."

"I got captured twice by the same damn person and was left completely helpless, which forced others to come save me," she said coldly, removing the blankets from over her head to glare at him. "Have you ever been in such a weak state that you could defend yourself? I almost couldn't get away from Cornelia's blade and I almost got _raped_ by that Marine multiple times! Tell me again that it's not a burden—" she was then interrupted when his strong grip wrapped around her arms and shoved her roughly to the bed. "—_Ouch!_ Kidd—" and she stopped when she saw the look in his eyes.

There was fire; his amber eyes were burning with rage as he stared into her eyes, making her feel anxious under his deadly gaze. "_You were raped?_" he repeated coldly, his tone so murderous that it made her shuttered.

"Almost…" Gabriella corrected softly. "I wasn't _that_ defenseless…."

The words didn't calm Kidd down, which was expected; an '_almost_' wasn't going to relax him with the thought that someone was that close to touching in such a way, or even having her. Kidd killed every soul that tried. His lips formed a thin frown as his brows furrowed in silent rage. "I knew I should of killed him when I was there; I knew I should'a, but I didn't."

Gabriella stared at him in confusion. "And why didn't you…?"

"Because you were more important," Kidd answered. "You were injured and you came first. Plus the burning building that was gonna crash down on us wasn't helping. I figured I'd kill him when he tried again."

Gabriella's brows furrowed deeper with confusion. "_When?_"

Kidd pulled back, his eyes blinking rapidly in shock, like he was unconscious to what he said. "Well…don't Marines go after mages? I only figured…you know?"

She felt that wasn't the truth, or at least what Kidd had in mind originally since what he said was technically true.

"Just…just don't worry about it," Kidd quickly said as he sat up, making distance. "You just get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning. We aren't going to stay here long, anyway. Good night," and he swiftly went to the door.

Gabriella stared as he left, but before the door closed, Hamish came running in. She smiled and petted her puppy as he snuggled up next to her for sleep, and she said: "Daddy's such a weirdo, isn't he?"

And Hamish barked in agreement.

* * *

><p>"Matt, Scotty," Kidd called across deck, making the blonde and ginger look his way in confusion and curiosity. "Com'ere!"<p>

The two walked over to their captain, but Scotty was the first to speak. "What's up, Capt'n?" He asked while scratching the back of his head.

"Something wrong?" Matt questioned, tilting his head to the side, his blonde bangs swaying over the curious look in his dark eyes.

"I need you two to stay on the ship," Kidd ordered as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Gabriella's sleeping and I don't want something to happen to her."

"I doubt anythin' will happen to her, Capt'n," Scotty replied, scratching the side of his freckled cheek. "Even if me and Matty stay 'ere, there's still an ass load of armed men 'ere, too."

Matt sighed and then whacked Scotty upside his stupid ginger head. "That ain't the point, Scotty,"

Scotty rubbed the back of his head and growled at the blonde. "Ah, fuck you, Matty."

"Shut up, Scotty," Matt glared at the ginger.

Kidd scowled at them darkly, annoyed with their actions. "How 'bout you both shut the fuck up and do as I told you."

The two flinched at the look from their captain, and inched away slowly as they said: "A—ye, Capt'n…" and then they rushed to watch over their captain's sleeping beauty.

Kidd just sighed and shook his head; his crew could be so…odd, when they wanted to be. But he cast that thought aside and went to find Killer, who was easy to find even in the dark. He was sitting on a crate at the end of the docks with Chamberlain standing at his side. They both were watching the crew do their jobs, but they were also investigating the new island.

It was a desert landscape, the sand stretching for miles, the tiny pebbles glowing with a tint of blue in the pale moonlight. Tall palm trees shuttered in the quick, rushes of wind that came by, making a deep howling from in his ears. It looked like paradise, but it was rather cold on the island, Kidd could feel the chill lightly on his exposed skin. But the cloaked civilians didn't seem to notice it, his crew, on the other hand, seemed to be feeling the cold as they shuttered in their thin clothing. The late island had warm weather, and even though this was a desert island, it got cold at night. They might have to break out the winter coats for the night, but Kidd didn't care too much about it; he did plan to leave by morning, after all.

"Olive and Bell left," Chamberlain said when Kidd stood amongst them. "Just so you know."

Kidd shrugged. "Don't care; glad they're gone though."

"Hmm," Killer grunted. "Well, looks like their coming back."

Kidd blinked in confusion at his first mate. "What…?" he questioned slowly as he looked to where his first mate was pointing.

His eyes opened wide at what he saw. Olive's stone cold glare fixated on him and his crew as she led an army of women warriors to the harbor. Had she gotten so upset over her pinkie that she went to get an army, tattling on them, even after they helped save her friend? Kidd groaned; what a bitch.


	78. Chapter 75: Wishes

AliceLaw: You get the 400th review mini! Yay, you! And thank you for still enjoying my story.

robin3zoro: Kidd did calm down, but in this chapter? Eh...no, no he didn't.

Alpenwolf: Olive is a bitch, ain't she? But there's a bigger bitch here. :D

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Kidd could have done that to Hamish, but how do you think Gabriella would of reacted? I...don't even want to image it.

Hitoshirezu: Gabriella really doesn't have a say in the matter. Why? Because Kidd and I say so. :D

Girl-luvs-manga: Kidd does...I don't know if I make him like that or if he really is just like that...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OC are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 75: Wishes<p>

Kidd's body grew stiff when he saw the sight of armed women warriors of Dogbane marching towards him with Olive leading the way. His back straightened and his fingers curled into tight fists; he tried to use his body language to send a message, a message to back away slowly and maybe they wouldn't be killed. But considering just how stubborn a bitch Olive was with, like, _everything_, it wouldn't surprise Kidd that these other bitches wouldn't give a damn that they were walking right into hell itself. These women were breed to fight.

The women walked briskly and in unison, not a speck of dust on their puffy, white trousers and cloaks that hid their bare chests from exposure. If the women showed an emotion about the lustful eyes of his crew trying to peer at them, then it was ignored. And, it was well hidden by red scarves wrapped around their necks to cover everything but the cold look in their dark eyes. Then they remained like statues when they finally stopped; an arm wrapped around spears that resting leisurely against their shoulders as their free hands firmly on the hilt of sharp sabers attached to their hips. Even their orange hair was tied up with weapons; thin needles that could slice through the thickest flesh when thrown at the right speed. And a discreet nudge from Killer's foot touching his turned Kidd's attention to the rooftops where he saw more women perched with bows and crossbows at the ready.

Kidd sneered, baring his teeth like a savage wolf; oh that fucking Olive was a bitch. She brought an army over a pinkie, or maybe it was something deeper, like the fact that he didn't go after that fucking Marine when Olive had wanted to. Well fuck, that was just great. Now, he was going to pay the price two-fold for not going after that damn, death-sentenced Marine.

"Our Princess wants to have an audience with you," Olive then suddenly said with an emotionless stare.

Kidd blinked, his brows furrowing together in confusion at the words. Then his body relaxing slightly as he glanced at Killer, who merely stared back at Kidd, and then Kidd turned back to Olive. "What the fuck?"

The emotionless look on Olive's face twisted to an annoyed scowl. "You heard me the first time. I will not repeat it," was all she said as she turned on the heel of her foot and walked away with the army right behind her, but the archers remained in place on the rooftops, watching, waiting, calculating their moves.

Kidd didn't like this, not one bit. When the foot soldiers were gone, Kidd looked to the other members of his crew that was present. "Seriously; what the fuck just happened?"

"I think you were invited to have a date with the queen," Chamberlain replied coolly.

"Shuddup, prick!" Kidd snapped to his navigator, anger starting to pool in his eyes; he was not in the mood for jokes.

Chamberlain simply grunted and rolled his eyes.

Kidd's brow pulsed with rage. "Why you little—"

"Well, Captain," Heat coughed abruptly, trying to get things back on track. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't wanna go," Kidd huffed, crossing his arms childishly over his chest. "I said we'd leave we we dropped off those bitches. We did, now we go."

"And I don't think they'll take no for an answer," Killer added as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the rooftops where the archers still stood, observing them from afar with arrows and darts drawn back on their weapons.

Kidd looked up at them squarely and tried to use his intimidating glare to run them off, but these were all around stubborn bitches that wouldn't move like Jackson at his stonewall. Turning away from the women, he growled; they really have no choice unless they wanted to leave with holes added to their flesh. Taking a deep breath in and then out, he sighed. "Looks like we have t—"

"_Ooh! Ooh!_" Madeline's voice appeared from the blue, and every one turned and stared as the thin summoner mage jumped frantically up and down while waving her hand high over her head, which made the stone devil beside her inch away slowly. Madeline ignored all of that and continued whatever she was doing. "_Kidd, oh, Kidd! I gots a question!_"

Kidd scowled at her, irritated with her behavior. "_What?_"

Madeline stopped waving her hand like a fool and clasped them together at her nonexistent chest as she continued to jump up and down like a moron. "Can I come, pretty please?"

"Can I not come?" Bedros cut in with the opposite, just for kicks.

"Sure, whatever," Kidd shrugged towards the stone devil.

Bedros's eyes opened wide. "Really? Sweet! Nap-time!" He then started to rush to the ship, but was stopped in his tracks.

"_You ain't takin' a nap, bastard!_" Kidd barked in return. "_You've work to do, so go help Matt and Scotty!_"

"_Fuck that!_"

"**WHAT YOU'D SAY?**"

"_N—nothing!_"

"**Yeah, you bitch! That's what I thought!**" Kidd screamed towards the fleeing stone devil. "_God,_" he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What'a pain in the ass."

"Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd—"

"_**WHAT!** What do you want?_" He shouted towards the thin summoner mage chanting his name over and over and over again. "I take what I said about Bedros back; _you _are the fucking pain in the ass!"

"_'_Bout time you saw it," Killer scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Kidd glared pointedly at his first mate. "Don't test me," he hissed threateningly.

"Hey, Kidd, Kidd listen me, Kidd, I have something to ask, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd, Kidd—"

"_I said: **what do you want?**_" Kidd screamed, his fingers itching to choke that tiny, little neck of hers, but Gabriella wouldn't be a too keen on the idea of him hurting her best friend, much less killing her.

"Can I come?" Madeline asked again, but she didn't stop there. "Please, please, please, please, please, please—"

Kidd trembled with bottled up rage, bent up frustration and overflowing irritation. "If I say yes, will you shut up?"

"Yes," Madeline chirped happily with a cheeky grin.

"Then _shut up_," Kidd snapped, but when he saw Madeline open her mouth to squeal, yes _squeal_ like the stupid idiot girl she was, he slapped a hand over that loud pothole and hissed threateningly. "_Zip. It._"

Madeline nodded frantically with a bright smile and then rushed over to Killer, clinging to his bare arm and snuggled her cheek to his scarred skin.

Killer then instantly sucker punched her away.

Jacques was then quick on the scene, going to his knees to cradled her in his arms and went on to curse out the masked blonde, to which Killer merely gave the French bomber the bird.

Kidd looked between the two arguing in a language he couldn't fucking understand and then the other three—Heat, Wire and Chamberlain—who were silently watching. When all was silent, he moved on. "Are we done?" He asked, and no one smartly answered. "Good. Let's go, Killer, Heat, Cham—no wait; Chamberlain, you and your lily white ass can stay here while Wire comes with us. Jacques, since you're here; you're comin', too. Now let's go."

Chamberlain scoffed and flicked Kidd off before walking off to the ship.

Kidd would have commented negatively to the action, but for the sake of staying on task, he ignored it by take a sharp inhale of air through his nose, but then he cringed when Jacques spoke up, saying something in god damn French; the most annoying language in the world right now. "You know I can't understand anything you, you fucker."

"_No_," Killer answered the bomber sharply. "You _cannot_ bring her."

Kidd flinched at the idea of another argument over the thin summoner mage starting up again, and it made it worse since he wouldn't be able to understand half of it, or all of it. Plus, he just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so he would be able to get some sleep as quickly as possible because he was tired, damn it; and maybe a little be sexual frustrated. So, he cut Killer off and said: "As Captain, I say Jacques is coming and if he wants to bring that pain'in the ass with us, fine. I don't give a fuckin' shit. Now let's go," and he tuned out everything else and started to head towards the palace to see the stupid princess.

* * *

><p>"If the crew was here I think they'd be having heart attacks," Heat whispered to Killer as they walked the halls of the palace with topless woman all around them.<p>

"I think their dicks would just explode," Killer corrected.

Ever since they entered the palace walls, the women have been topless. Granted, the warriors were, too, but there was probably a reason for that, maybe for more freedom and movement; plus they had cloaks to cover themselves in the end. These women though only wore thin skirts on their hips with golden belts and then necklaces of pearls hung low between their large breasts all the way to their bellybuttons. And, the looked to be those type of women, yet the robed men, who looked like scholars, paid no attention to them whatsoever, hell, even the women didn't look at them, only the pirates following Olive.

Heat shrugged, shaking his arm of small, feathery fingers that experimentally touched his scars and tattoos. "That too, but why do you think such women with power look like…_harems?_" Heat asked softly as a group of women passed by, acting like nothing more than the women they had seen in the past at bars.

"They're acting because they want something of us," Killer answered, seeing that the women's body told one story, but their eyes said another; they were ordered to act in such a way. "The people in charge must think that women will get us in their good graces, but not all men are simple minded…_right_, Kidd?" Killer turned his attention to the ginger leading, his voice taunting him because Kidd would not look up as he walked, his eyes forever on the heels of Olive as she led the way.

Kidd cringed when he heard that from his first-mate, but he dared not look up in any way shape or form.

"Would ya look at that," Killer clicked his tongue, chuckling, amused. "Kidd's a good boy, ain't he, Heat."

Heat gave Killer a wary looking, warning him not to press too many buttons of a slightly unstable Kidd right now.

Kidd then suddenly stopped, and Killer felt maybe he went a bit too far for real this time, but then he saw that Kidd stopped because Olive did. She then turned sharply on her bare heel and walked to the side, whispering something to a maid, that was fully clothed. The maid nodded and then disappeared behind a red velvet corner, but after a moment passed, the one that returned was different.

When she walked into the room, every lady warrior stationed along the walls came to attention, the butts of their spears tapping against the marble floor, and the harems started to swoon at the presences of her, giggling only kind words of her beauty. She walked with grace, the rubies and gems hanging from her thin robe wrapped around her body swayed back and forth with her hips as she took each tiny step she took. Then Olive stepped forward, but the woman didn't need to announce who this was; they all knew who it was. The Princess.

"Princess Godiva," Olive bowed deeply as she said the name, but when she came up and saw that only the pirates had not bowed, she was ready to bring punishment for the disrespect, but a single hand stopped her.

The princess the replaced her hand back as her side as she continued strolling forward. "Greetings," Godiva nodded towards Kidd when she stood before him. "I am truly grateful you have come," and she placed a hand to his bare chest.

Kidd took a violent step backwards, like her touch was poison, and it clearly offended the princess. And Kidd looked like he didn't give a shit. "Just tell us what you fucking want."

The Princess looked at him in shock, like her feminine charm was supposed to memorize him. But since it didn't work getting the captain eating out of the palm of her silky hand, she went to the second best. She was swiftly at Killer's side, wrapping a tiny arm around his large scarred. "Come, and I shall explain," she told them as she started back into her chamber, pulling Killer along with her gently.

And like a bloodhound, Madeline, who was still being carried by Jacques while unconscious, woke up in a flash, her eyes white with burning rage and her nostril flared. She was ready to pounce, ready to kill, but Jacques took her to the ground with a cry in his native language, his eyes wide with concern because of the spear heads pointing at them in a heartbeat. It took Heat, Wire and Jacques to hold back the rage of Madeline, which was really saying something considering her size. But then the lady warriors backed off once they thought that Madeline was under control. Though she never would be.

No one messes with her masked sexy hunk.

* * *

><p>Killer sat there in amusement, watching as Godiva tried flirting with him to get him to take his mask off, which he would never do for a woman like her; nobles don't get special treatment in his books. Plus, the name Peggy came to mind, which made him sit still and simply watch Madeline struggling to escape Wire and Jacques's strong grips so the thin summoner mage wouldn't maul the princess. Though, Killer secretly hoped that the grip of his mates would slip and Madeline's wrath was unleashed so they army of lady warriors in the room would kill the thin summoner mage to protect their princess.<p>

Though, Kidd, on the other hand, didn't find anything to be entertaining whatsoever.

The pirate captain stood up sharply, annoyed with the giggling harems trying to cling to his arms, bluntly flirting with him when he was happy with another. "We're going to leave if you don't fucking tell us anything, you _bitch_," he seethed bitterly, jabbing a finger towards the princess.

Godiva merely stared at him, but then she held up a hand, signaling to her warriors to stand down since they had moved to take down the pirate for such brutish words and actions against their princess. She then sighed and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked over to a large window that over looked the desert wasteland she ruled. "Something was stolen of mine after my Mother's death."

"We just got here, so don't fuckin' blame any shit stealing on us," Kidd snapped, growing more irritated with each moment that passed by.

Godiva sharply turned to him, glaring. "I am not stupid, I know that."

"Then why the fuck are we here?" Kidd questioned harshly, holding his arms out to the room. "You want us to go look for it?"

"Yes," the princess nodded.

Kidd stared at her; then said: "Fuck that."

"You shall be rewarded," the princess quickly said, trying to reason with him. "I want my lamp back! Bring me back my lamp and I shall give you something great. I shall give you a wish, a wish for_ anything_."


	79. Chapter 76: Djinn, Djinn

AliceLaw: You're welcome. :) So tell me you're wish (mini idea) and I saw grant it. And yes, that pun was intended.

Neeky-chan: A lot has happened while you were gone, and Gabriella's fortune is a super secret. :o

Son of Whitebeard: Oh, you have no idea how right you are.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Madeline is there for comic relief, but she still plays a big role to the story. She actually plays a big role in this arc. :3

Alpenwolf: Madeline has special senses; they are called stalker senses. Kinda like spiderman, except it's: my stalker senses are tingling! :D

Girl-luvs-manga: Kidd will do the unthinkable...well, actually not so much.

robin3zoro: Kidd is sorta going to do it and then not.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: I was eating Godiva chocolate while writing that chapter...so yeah. And Chamberlain is totally badass because he can get away with that stuff with getting killed, or beaten up...yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

_**BONUS TIME! Challenge: can you guess the two games that inspired this arc? **_

* * *

><p>Chapter 76: Djinn, Djinn.<p>

"I so don't wanna fuckin' do this right now. I'm tired as shit and those bitches put me in a bad mood with their stupid, fucking shirtless flirting; they tried to seduce me those shitty hoes! Seriously, and now I have to track through the scorching bitch of a desert to find a stupid lamp that whore couldn't keep under lock and key well enough. And all of this for a wish, a single fucking wish. This better be worth it, I swear to fuckin' god—" his rant was then stopped when a firm hand shoved him in the chest and kept him in place at the foot of the gangplank. Kidd stared at Killer in confusion. "What?"

"You don't have to go," Killer told him simply.

Kidd blinked at him. "Uh, yeah, actually I do."

Killer tilted his head to the side. "And why is that exactly? Because you're the Captain?" and Kidd nodded wordless. Killer sighed and shook his head. "You have a crew to do your grunt work too, you know. You can stay back at the ship while we—" he motioned to Heat, Wire, Jacques and a still fuming Madeline. "—look for the lamp."

"But…" Kidd slowly started to say. "I have to get the lamp to get the wish…right?"

"No you don't," Killer corrected. "We get the lamp and you, as Captain, get the reward: the wish."

Kidd eyed him oddly, a deep frown forming on his lips. "I dunno…that doesn't seem like a thing I should do…"

Killer was silent for only a moment before giving Kidd a set of choices. "Hot, scorching desert or warm bed with Gabriella."

Kidd was quiet for only a second before putting a hand and saying: "See-ya," and then he turned sharply on his heel back to the ship.

Killer chuckled shaking his head before turning to his mates, seeing them all stare at him blankly. "…what?"

"Are you sure it was a good idea to do that?" Heat questioned, unsure of the situation.

Killer was silent before giving his mates a set of choices. "Hot, scorching desert without Kidd or hot, scorching desert with a sleep deprived Kidd."

There was silent.

"I think it was a good idea."

"Agreed, we should be fine without Captain."

"_Oui._"

"And I get to come, too? _Eek~!_ This is _so_ exciting!"

Killer stared at Madeline, wishing ever so much just to throw her into the ocean and hope a Sea King would eat her and he'd never see her again. But, he was man enough to admit that Madeline's magic would come in handy for a journey into the desert. Though, he was smart enough not to admit it aloud, but it still didn't stop Madeline from trying to dry hump him when she tried to hug him. Of course before she even got close to his person he punched her violently away, knocking her unconscious instantly.

Jacques gasped loudly and went to the thin summoner mage quickly, catching her before she even hit the ground. Then he turned to the masked blonde, scowling angrily as he cursed him out in vicious French.

Killer ignored the bomber and began giving orders instead. "Pick her up and head out." and he turned on his heel to lead the way.

* * *

><p>Kidd briskly walked down the hall to his quarters where he saw Matt and Scotty along with Bedros lounging against the wall, sharing a large bottle of wine. Slightly annoyed that they were getting drunk on the job, but then again they were pirates, he shooed their drunk asses off to Chamberlain so they could get new orders, and also because he was still pissed at his navigator due to lack of sleep. Basically, he was grouchy and showed no shame in it.<p>

But once in his room and at the sight of his bed, he felt his body relax automatically. Sluggishly, he shuffled over to the bed as his coat slid from his shoulders and then he kicked off his boots then flopped into bed face first with a muffled groan against his pillow.

Gabriella jolted awake when his weight shook the bed, and Hamish's tiny head popped up, curious of who was there, but then the puppy nestled back down to sleep when he saw it was only his daddy. Gabriella though, rolled over, shifting her legs under all the sheets and propped herself up on an elbow and looked at him with sleepy golden eyes. "We leavin' now…?" she asked quietly.

"Nah," Kidd yawned, pulling the covers over his form and rolled over onto his side to face her. "Killer's got something to do."

She nodded slowly, mumbling a small, "Okay," and rested her head back onto the pillow and curled up tightly under the blankets.

Kidd huffed with a ghost of a smile on his lips and he placed a hand to her cheek, and he almost pulled away when he saw that he used his beastly mechanical hand to add a sense of comforting to the mood. But she didn't flinch as the cold, lifeless fingers cradled her cheek; instead she sighed with a smile at the touch and was able to soundly go to sleep.

She was still full of surprises; though she was quiet about it, he could always tell when his mechanical joints would pinch her skin or the cold make her shiver. But she didn't do anything like that this time, maybe because he was conscious at the right moment and didn't pinch or maybe the metal helped cool her heated skin in the warm weather. It could also just be because she was half asleep and didn't care, or maybe even more…

He didn't get to think of it anymore since his sleep deprived mind finally kicked in and he passed out quickly, mechanical hand still resting on his on his summoner mage's cheek.

* * *

><p>"Be careful of the Red Devils," Olive warned them as they trudged through the hot desert sand, her warriors following behind easily whereas the pirates had trouble; they were used to having sea legs not ones for loose sand that could burn their skin to a crisp if not careful. Luckily the woman warriors saw this and took it easy, probably since the pirates did agree to help, after all. "They cause sandstorms, so kill them quickly if you spot one."<p>

"What do they look like?" Heat asked, pulling the brown cloak over his shoulder further so his skin would be protected by the rising run.

"You'll know its one when you see them," Olive growled, jabbing the butt of her spear into the sand angrily. "For centuries these creatures of caused chaos to our people and if it wasn't for the lamp, then we would all be overrun by the very sand called our home."

"If they're so dangerous, they why do you encounter them?" Killer questioned curiously. "A sandstorm as an attack doesn't seem deadly, hazardous, but not enough to kill anyone."

Olive stopped and looked over her shoulder at the masked blonde, glaring at him coldly. "You've never been stuck in a sandstorm and seen the chaos they cause. One can get lost, you know. Many of my people have died wandering these deserts in search of water."

"Then why don't you use the stars to navigate?" Killer bluntly asked.

Olive stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean by use the stars? We use landmarks within the desert to guide us."

Killer found that to be…odd. Since Kidd had that huge collection of astrology books, Killer found himself reading them from time to time so his brain didn't turn to mush. But that aside, the books always said that sailors used the stars for navigation and even those that traveled in the desert. Landmarks did seem like a good way, but…if there were frequent sandstorms, wouldn't they get covered up. Something didn't add up here, but really, Killer didn't care, as long as it didn't get him killed in the end.

"Red Devils! Red Devils!" a woman warrior cried, pointing towards a lone figure with her spear head not too far away.

The enemy known as the Red Devil was small, a little creature cloaked in red with a golden mask covering its face. It bowed towards a tall stone in the sand, something that looked to be a gravestone. Killer found it to be strange that a tiny thing like _that_ would case such chaos, but looks were deceiving, literally. The Red Devil shot up swiftly when it heard the woman warrior's roar across the way, and there is showed its true height as it stood up eight feet tall, red cloak billowing in the desert breeze.

"_Quick!_" Olive shouted with a sneer, waving her pinkiless hand in the air to get her small troop into line. "_Kill it before it gets away!_"

"_Wait!_" Killer tried to protest, grabbing a hold of Olive's shoulder. "These thing are the ones that stole the lamp, we shouldn't kill it yet! It can lead us to it!"

He was ignored and Olive roughly shrugged the hand on her shoulder away and continued to rally her small troop of lady warriors. "Get into formation now, _now_ before it jumps!" and the women whipped out crossbows loaded with darts on command and pointed at the Red Devil that crouched in the sand and shuffled backward. "_Shoot before it—_"

But it was too late.

Red Devil jumped from its crouch, leaping into the air at impossible heights and the sand exploded around it. It was a massive cloud that billowed up, causing the hazardous storm to accrue, blinding everyone.

Then it stopped in only a matter of seconds, the sand settling down quickly as it rained down on all those in the middle of it all.

"The storm passed by quickly," one warrior replied. "Hell, it wasn't even like a storm, only a smoke bomb in a way."

"But the Red Devil got away!" Olive barked, kicking up sand to release frustrated tense, but to no prevail. "Damn it!"

"At least we got out alive," another warrior tried to calm her down. "The land mark is still here."

Olive took a deep breath in and out. "I suppose you're right about that…" she muttered under her breath before turning to the rest of the travel group. "Is everyone here?"

"I think so…" Heat answered, looking around through the hazy blur, but he couldn't make it out for sure.

"No! _No!_ Everyone's _not_ here!" Madeline squealed through a high pitch voice, a look of terror written on her face. "My baby Killer isn't here!"

* * *

><p>He woke up in strange place that smelled on incense and dark shadows crisscrossing over his body. Slowly, he sat up and examined his surroundings, seeing that he was placed in a pile of plush pillows within a stone cave filled with all types of gold objects, ranging from candle holders to chairs and tables. But what really confused him is the Red Devils surrounded him, kneeling down in a circle, staring at him through the golden masks. They were talked up to be deadly, yet…it seemed as if they saved him and showed nothing that deemed them hostile.<p>

"Um…" he slowly started. "Can you speak?"

The cloak beings exchanged glances, as if they were conversing through mind. They looked at each other, occasionally back at him, and then they all nodded. One stood up tall among the group, and turned to the cave's entrance, and then with a jerk of his head, ushered the masked blonde to follow.

Curious, Killer decided to follow his guide into outside. The light of late morning blinded him, even with his mask on, and he used a hand to shield his eyes from the intense glare. But once used to the lighting, he looked out at the environment, seeing that he was standing on the mountainous cliff that only looked like a speck unworthy of noting by the harbor where the ship was docked. But now he saw that a whole village of these Red Devils lived here, the towering beings leaping from cliff edge to the next with ease.

Though, his time taking in the scenery was cut short when his guide came back, urging him to follow. Killer did so, walking along the rickety bridges that connected the platforms as they traveled higher and higher until reaching the top. The cliff's peak held what seemed to be a small temple and his guide then stopped and knelt back down, his tall height shrinking almost to nothing.

Killer figured this was the end of the line for the escort and he was on his own. He pushed back the curtains that acted as the temple's door and walked inside, seeing more curtains hanging from the ceiling along with gold beads, like a maze almost. As he stepped further into the room, more incense invaded his nose as he passed by at least a dozen burning sticks of it. This was considered a holy place to the Red Devils, and he felt like he shouldn't be welcomed given his choice of career.

But he was, so pushing back the last curtain, he saw the thing that Princess Godiva wanted back no matter what. The lamp.

It didn't look like something of value; only a copper pot with an irregular form. It looked a little dusty though from the sand, so he swiped a hand across the surface to see if it was actually gold or worthless copper. But as soon as his hand touched it, the object began to shake violently and jumped back when smoke poured from the spout. The smoke spiraled around him, making the situation feel uneasy, but then it suddenly stopped right in front of him and the image of a girl appeared.

Her skin and hair the color of freshly fallen snow, and she were a solid shade of yellow. She blinked at him curiously as she tilted her head to the side, examining him, but then she weakly smiled. "I know why you have come," she told him. "I'm am Djinn and I know Godiva wants me back, but I'm afraid I can not go with you to the Princess; never again will I."


	80. Chapter 77: Scholars in Charge

Girl-luvs-manga: No offense taken, you're not suppose to like her anyway. I think this chapter will kinda hit the last nail for that...

Neeky-chan: You're on the right ball!

Alpenwolf: No...your guesses are wrong...I thought it would be easy to see, but I guess I was wrong...

Son of Whitebeard: Hehe, maybe...

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: You have no idea how right you are.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Killer doesn't have a choice in what he can do. ;p

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 77: Scholars in Charge<p>

"Can you get me some more bandages?" Gabriella asked Kidd while she inspected an array of different items out on the desk. "There should be some in the bottom drawer of the nightstand."

Kidd merely nodded and walked over to the nightstand, crouching down to look through the drawer. Though, he had to shoo Hamish away since the puppy continued to jump up onto his knee with tennis ball between his teeth. He wanted to play, but Kidd did not. "_No_," Kidd firmly said as he grabbed the puppy by the collar and stretched out his arm to drop Hamish away. "And stop whining," Kidd then snapped, glaring lightly at the whimpering pup that held his head low, tennis ball falling to the ground. Kidd ignored him and continued on with his task and then gave Gabriella the bandages she wanted.

"Thank ya, love," she murmured as Kidd put the bandages in the palm of her hand and she looked over the things on the desk one more time. Then she smiled, happy with what was there and began to place them in her magic bag as she said what each thing was, aloud. "Bandages, burn ointment, aspirin, magically-enchanted gold necklace just in case, the few enchanted scrolls Calamity gave me, tampons—"

Kidd glanced away at the word, avoiding it.

"—let's see what else, ah, journal and pencil, lipstick, cover up, blush, eyeliner, eye shadow, and…and, oh, what else," she huffed, her brows furrowing in thought.

Kidd eyed her, amused. "Not done, still?"

"I'm forgetting something…" she mumbled, looking at her bag and then glanced around the room. Then she perked up, her eyes opening wide and she smiled. "Ah-hah; I know what's missing now," and she strolled over to the dresser, opening Kidd's sock-drawer and pulled out a sleeping Musket.

Kidd blinked in confusion. "He's…he's been hiding there; this entire time? No wondered I didn't seem him often…"

"He likes your socks; says they're warm," Gabriella replied with a gentle smile, placing her slumbering familiar into the magical bag.

Kidd stared at her blankly. "Fucked. Up," he stated, his eyes watching as she walked over to the mirror hanging from the wall.

"Hmph," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You should feel complimented," she countered, turning so her back was facing the mirror. Looking over her shoulder, she tried to hook the small bag to the back of her belt. "Damn it," she grumbled. "This thing's impossible to get on. Kidd, help me out here."

Kidd grunted, but did what was asked of him and helped her. With her back now towards him, he hooked the bag to her belt. "There," he said once he was done. "Don't know why you have so much fucking stuff or how it all fits in this tiny ass bag…"

Gabriella giggled, twisting on her heel to face him again. "It takes just a touch of magic to hide my horde," she sweetly answered, placing her hands to his bare chest. "And thanks," she added and went up on her tippy-toes to give him a tiny kiss to the lips.

Kidd then grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. "That's _all_ I get?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed. "Helping with my bag gets you a kiss, a small one. Saving my ass from a monster and maybe…" she trailed off, fingers tracing little circles along the skin of his chest. "…maybe, just maybe, you'll get a bit more."

"Let's just say I saved that perky ass of yours already," Kidd whispered huskily, leaning in closer as he pulled her closer. "So we can get to the hot stuff. I'm rather cold."

"Awe~," Gabriella mockingly pouted. "Poor baby, do I really need to warm you up?" she inquired, rubbing her hands against his chest teasingly.

Kidd quickly wrapped his arms around her back and then hoisted her clear off the floor, holding her chest to his. "Yes," he smirked. "With lots of sheets in between as well," and he moved in for a deeper kiss.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Kidd ripped away from the make out session, screaming: "FUCK OFF!"

"_There's a message for you, Kidd,_" Chamberlain replied from behind the door. "_From the Princess, she wants to meet you are a restaurant called Belladonna by the harbor_."

Upon the words, Gabriella pushed away from him, her golden eyes wide and blinking wildly. "_Princess?_"

Kidd stared back at her, thinking: _shit_. It was definitely an uh-oh moment since he didn't mention Godiva yet. "I can explain, babe," he then said quickly. "It's not what you think, I swear."

She said nothing, but her eyes held a worried look; this was the first time Kidd ever saw that look in her eyes when it was about another woman. It was the first time he ever saw her doubt him. This was bad, very bad.

He had to prove to her that it wasn't what it seemed. "Come with me," he told her, grabbing her hand firmly and pulled her out of the room. "I'll show you that it isn't what you think."

Then in mere minutes Kidd found himself dragging his mildly unwilling summoner mage through the sunny streets of the city. It was uncharacteristic for him, but Kidd was nervous. That look in her eyes was new, unfamiliar, and unwelcomed. But they both were mature, right? Once she saw that Kidd thought the princess was a whiny-ass-bitch then his summoner mage wouldn't be upset anymore…right? Gabriella was still filled with surprises; some were good, but others…others were bad.

At the door to the Belladonna, Kidd turned to Gabriella one more time, seeing that anxious look in her eyes as she shifted back and forth on her heels. "I'm telling the truth," he told her. "I'll show you."

Gabriella was silent, but a weak smile came to her lips and her grip tightened around his hand.

That was enough for Kidd and he strolled calmly into the Belladonna with Gabriella trailing behind. It was a dimly lit place, with only scented candles creating long shadows along the ordinate rugs, plush pillows and thick curtains. The place was vacant safe for the guards at the doors and the servers lined along the walls; probably because of the princess being present.

Then a hostess came forth, the woman fully clothed compared to the ones he saw earlier that morning. "Come this way," she said with a bow, ushering them to follow.

They did so, all the way to the back of the restaurant where the princess was waiting. Godiva was lounging among the pillows in a suggestive way, trying to showcase her exposed cleavage and tanned legs. She was up to something is she was trying to seduce him, _again_, but she wouldn't get far, even if Gabriella wasn't here. When Godiva saw his shadowed form step into the room, she smiled sweetly. Though, it turned to a sour frown when the curvy shadow of the summoner mage stepped into the light beside Kidd.

"Who is _this?_" She questioned, rudely pointing a finger to the summoner mage.

Before Kidd could even say a word, Gabriella spat, "His _girlfriend_," with venomous, jealous protection as she clutched Kidd's hand tightly.

"Hmm," Godiva dully said, looking the summoner mage up and down, then turned her head away, disinterested. "I see," was all she said before getting to the task at hand. "Please, sit," she motioned to the pillows. "But, I wish to speak with you in…_private_."

"Too bad," Kidd grunted and plopped down on the pillows cross-legged. "If you have something to say, you can say it with my girl here."

Godiva scowled, and then her face grew with even more rage when Gabriella slipped down into his lap, purposely getting under the princess's skin. "_Ahem,_" she coughed, regaining her composure. "Well, I have—"

That's when Kidd tuned her out, not because he wanted to, but because he was forced to; not that he was complaining. Gabriella simply reached up, placing a hand to his cheek so he would look down at her. Though, she pulled him closer so she could whisper sweet things into his ear. Well, sweet was probably putting it mild. She said sexual things that should only be said in a bedroom between the sheets. He knew she was doing this aggravate Godiva, but Kidd didn't care; these things would happen later anyway.

"—_hey!_" Godiva's voice broke their bubble. "Are you listening to me?"

"No," Gabriella quickly and bluntly barked, her attention turning towards the princess. "We find what you have to say to be boring."

Kidd wouldn't lie, she was right. Well, he just assumed since he tuned out at the beginning of the princess's spiel.

"This has to do with the lamp, Captain!" Godiva snapped, pounding a fist to the table. "If you want your wish then you will listen to me! I can give you anything; the _best_ that can be offered!"

"Honey," Gabriella scoffed, rolling her eyes as she leaned forward while resting her hands on Kidd's knees. "I _am_ the best thing that happened to him."

Once again, Kidd wouldn't lie, she was right: she was one of the best things that happened to him.

"I beg to differ," Godiva growled angrily. "I can offer much better than you with my lamp!"

"_Stuff it, bitch!_" Gabriella barked, leaping from her seat upon Kidd's lap.

He stopped her though, just because he didn't want to deal with the guards hiding in the shadows; they must as have he was stupid or something. But that didn't mean he wasn't boiling with rage. "Just fuckin' tell me what you want," he snapped, his tone murderous. "Stupid bitch."

Godiva trembled with rage, but she held it in. "Something is wrong with the lamp," she started, her voice tight. "I can feel it. So, I have another favor to ask of you."

* * *

><p>"Wait, what do you mean you <em>can't<em> go fucking back to Godiva?" Killer questioned harshly. "I traveled into the son of a bitch desert for you—" he pointed rudely at the genie. "—got separated from my crew because of you—" he jabbed a finger to her nose. "—and got captured because of you! I'm not leaving _without_ you!"

The genie blinked blankly are him then simply said: "You don't know the story then. Of course Godiva wouldn't tell you."

Killer then grew cautious. "What'd she leave out?" He questioned tightly.

"That I _told_ her I was leaving," the genie replied. "For years, I have only been a tool and I can no longer stand it. I can to be with my Guardians, knowing I will be safe."

"The Red Devils…are actually Guardians, as in they protect," Killer clarified.

The genie nodded. "They have been trying to steal me back for hundreds of years, but the warriors of Dogbane have kept me under lock and key and even killed my Guardians; they are harmless creatures. It was only luck that I was able to escape…thanks to _him_."

"And who is the one that saved you?"

"Hershey, Godiva's brother," the genie replied, her passive face turned stern with seriousness. "He was banished after the murder of his mother and his sister took the throne. He knew the truth of what the rulers of Dogbane did with me and I had confided in him to take me to my Guardians. It was enough to put a wedge in Godiva's rule, but now she has gotten more violent. And desperate if she's trying to manipulate pirates to do her dirty work."

"Fucking bitch," Killer spat venomously. "I knew something was up, but we only did this for that shitty wish. It's looking like it's totally not worth it."

"It's not," the genie agreed. "She lied and tricked you. After you would have given me back to her, she would have murdered your crew, and never have given you your wish because only those of Royal Dogbane Blood can use me."

Killer stood there silent, enraged.

"You and your crew have been fooled," the genie bluntly stated, but before Killer could even react, she spoke again. "But I have a plan. That Hersey, the banished Prince should take the throne for a new era in DogBane; the men, the scholars should take charge!" She declared proudly. "They know how a government should be run thanks to their studying, but the woman have a hold of them...because of me. But since I would be gone, that can all be changed."

Killer stood there, staring. "Uh, huh," he was skeptical.

The genie looked anxious. "Unlike Godiva, I will keep my promises. I can't give you a wish, but a reward that will be far more valuable to your journey. If you will help me, that is."

"I find this whole situation hard to trust," Killer dryly said.

"I understand," the genie replied, sheepishly looking down at her folded hands. "After everything that has happened, I understand, but please," she looked back up at him. "I need your help, and I feel you are the only one if my Guardians would trust you enough to take you to our home! I promise to give you that reward once it's all over! I promise!"

Killer was silent, watching the look in the Genie's eyes. There seemed to be nothing that hinted she was lying, but this was a mythical creature that could lie like a motherfucker, like Bedros . Killer may not have fallen for the stone devil's traps, but others got hooked; it could get messy. Plus, he didn't want to go on a goose chase for nothing anymore. "No," he declared sternly.

The genie's eyes opened wide. "Please!" she begged, desperate. "At least go to Hershey! If my words do not make you believe then his will! My Guardians will take you to him!"

Killer would have told her to tell her Guardians to take him back to his ship so the crew didn't have to deal with this shit anymore. But sadly, he had no choice since the Guardians flooded the temple and stole him away to find this Hershey.

* * *

><p>"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Madeline screeched as she ran back and forth in the sand. "MybabyKillerwasstolen! Ohmygodohmygod!"<p>

The Dogbane warriors and Kidd pirates stood there, annoyed, save for Jacques that held his head low in defeat. Then Wire, who was at the last bit of his rope, stuck out the staff of his pitchfork, making the thin summoner mage trip over it, landing head first into the blistering sand.

"EEK!" She cried, clutching her burned cheeks. "SONOFABITCH!" she then cursed Wire.

"Everyone wanted to do it," Wire emotionlessly said, ignoring the vile French words Jacques sprayed at him before going to the summoner mages help.

Heat ignored them all, and went to Olive who watch the odd scene to the side with her warriors. "Do you know how we can find Killer?"

"Afraid not," Olive scoffed. "The Devils got him and it's only a matter of time before they kill him to their sand god. Unless you have a character that can teleport to him, he's done for."

The Kidd Pirates were silent then slowly turned their heads to Madeline that had a blank look on her crispy face.

Then she cheekily grinned, recovering from her burns almost instantly and popped up onto her feet. "I will save the day!" She declared while digging through her robe's pockets to pull out a little clear baggie with a wisp of blonde hair in it. "I knew stealing my baby's hair would save us all one day!" She swooned, clutching the baggie to her chest tightly.

Everyone stared, disgusted, save for Jacques that hung his head low in defeat.


	81. Chapter 78: Hell

Girl-luvs-manga: One day...Jacques will...put on a fucking mask.

AliceLaw: I'm glad that you see Madeline as adorable, yet creepy. That's what I was going for!

Alpenwolf: Maybe...Jacques won't get Maddie-lovin' anytime soon...

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I didn't forget about Musket, but I was sure the reader did (which I was right), so I had to draw you guys back to the fact that he is there, just not seen (Like I did with Bedros hiding under Gabriella's bed for that long period of time). :) And Killer thinks all magical beings are lying motherfuckers. *cough*Bedros*cough*

Neeky-chan: Yeah...I guess it was obvious (damn you writing skills, why you fail me when I try to be plot-twisty D:), but anyway, Killer can never escape Madeline; his fortune says so.

robin3zoro: It could be gross, but I see it as funny, lol.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Ho, ho, ho! Cat fight is coming right up! Sorta...

zdenkac09: I don't know who that is, but I think Madeline will take that as a compliment; and Killer wishes he was in another realm now. Yay.

**Edited: Due to confusion with main plot of Bones and His Heir and this sub plot of His Heir, I have changed the genie of the lamp's name to Djinn. I went through the chapter to change it, but if I missed one, feel free to point it out. Thank you. :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine. So, no touchy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 78: Hell<p>

Madeline paced back across the cave, tapping her chin in thought as she went while inspecting the ground.

Wire, the most annoyed with the thin summoner mage, glared at her. It was respectable that Madeline needed a sturdy surface, unlike sand, to make the teleportation circle she spoke of, but after reaching the cave an _hour_ ago, Wire would have thought they'd been with Killer fifty-nine minutes ago. And he wasn't the only one getting impatient.

"Are you done yet?" Olive snapped, completely frustrated along with the other lady warriors. "You've been walking around the cave for an hour now! We still have a job to do! Godiva needs her lamp!"

Madeline scowled murderously over her shoulder at Olive and the lady warriors. "_Never speak her name in my presence,_" she hissed demonically that is actually made the warriors inch back in slight fear over the evil aura swimming around the thin summoner mage.

Wire blinked, glanced at Heat, seeing that the second mate had the same expression as he did. Who would have thought crazy old Madeline could be scary without being creepy. Though, Jacques reaction was different: he praised her, which wasn't necessarily strange, but it was for a lost cause.

"No woman can touch my Baby Killer," Madeline declared seriously as she stood like stone with arms folded over her flat chest, and Jacques held his head low in defeat. The French bomber was ignored by the thin summoner mage whose mood did a complete 180 and she smiled cheekily. "Now to get on with the circle; had to make sure it was big enough and also safe!" then she clapped her hands together twice. "Russell! Chalk!"

And on command, the little purple lizard popped out of the thin summoner mage's pocket, its tail peeking out so it could show the tiny piece of white chalk.

"Thank you," Madeline patted her familiar on the head before plucked the chalk from the tail wrapped around it. "Now let's get to work!"

* * *

><p>Killer was not a happy camper, for many reasons. He was tricked by a puny-bitch princess, he was forced into a rebellion he wanted no part in, and he didn't know if he was going to get something out of it. Fuck today; it sucked. Kidd and he would have been better off just burning the entire island of Dogbane down to the sandy ground than get mixed up in <em>this<em> mess, especially now that he was at gun point.

The men that wore robes like bandits circled him with military grade rifles in hand; cocked and ready to fire upon him. The only reason why they hadn't done so yet was because of the Guardian at his side also because of their leader: Hershey.

"_Wait!_" the man in charge shouted to his men, pushing passed them all. "Don't shoot, Scholars! This isn't an enemy!"

Killer tilted his head to the side, confused. They really _were_ scholars; that was strange since they looked nothing like the men at the place. They didn't have fine white robes like the ones in the palace but rather sand stained pants and trench coats, and scarves covering their entire heads to shield sensitive skin from the harsh sun.

"Djinn must have sent you if you're with a Guardian." Hershey spoke again as he walked towards the masked blonde. "Though, I didn't think she'd send a pirate to help…" he added, slipping off his hood and Killer noted that Hershey looked just like his sister, orange hair and dark eyes, but his facial features were sharp from real world exposure, his scarred skin showed that.

"I had no choice in the matter," Killer replied dryly.

Hershey blinked in confusion from behind grey tinted sunglasses. "You came here by force…?"

Killer glanced towards the Guardian still standing tall beside him, the red robed being glancing down at him. And it almost looked as if the Guardian was sweating with fear, which caused it to jump away high into the sky, leaving only a mild sand cloud in its wake. There was confusion among the scholar rebels until the sand pillowed back to the ground of their camp.

Then Killer looked to Hershey, annoyed. "And looks like I can't leave now either," the masked blond grumbled, feeling veins pop along his brow, even if they couldn't be seen.

"Ahh…" Hershey laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, anyway, I'm sure you have questions about everything so I'll explain it all to you at my tent."

Killer, feeling he really had no choice since he was in the middle of the desert, followed Hershey as the rebel leader went deeper into the encampment to his tent. Along the walk, Killer examined the scholars, seeing that they were well equipped for a battle compared to the lady warriors of Dogbane. The rebels had cannons and guns whereas the warriors only had spears and bows; the difference in power was visible, but numbers varied greatly: the lady warriors had an army, the rebels had only a militia. Could they win?

The question was left unanswered as Hershey stopped.

"This way," he ushered Killer to follow with a wave of his hand. "I'll answer all your questions."

"Tell me why the fuck your sister's gonna kill my crew," was Killer's first and foremost important question.

"Ah," Hershey sighed with a tiny shake of his head as he plopped out onto a stood in the middle of the space and leaned his elbows onto the table in thought. "Godiva was using you to get Djinn back, telling you that you'd get a wish even though you can't use the lamp, right?" Hershey asked, and Killer nodded, making the rebel leader scoff and then pound a fist to the table filled with maps and battle plans. "The women of Dogbane have always been like this! Ever since Queen Lea…"

Killer, not all that curious of the former queen, didn't care about it; he just wanted to leave with his crew in one piece. But, he had a feeling he needed to drag this conversation on; getting on the rebels' good side would help him find his missing members still in the desert and then have guides back to port. "And what did she do?"

"She wasn't happy," Hershey ground through his teeth. "She wasn't happy because King Leo didn't give her everything! So, she stole Djinn from the Guardians to get everything she wanted in the world; her first wish being that only royal blood can use the lamp forever, her second was royal blood can use the lamp as long as they want, and her third wish," Hershey paused, grounding his teeth together in hateful rage. "Power."

Killer was silent, getting slightly more curious as the story went on.

And Hershey continued. "And she used that power to kill her own husband and put the women into power of Dogbane. Ever since then, the women of royal blood have fooled and tricked everyone; that the men were inferior that the Guardians were bloodthirsty, even the women warriors are fooled."

"Which is why they don't have proper navigation skills," Killer commented, remembering that fact. "A woman Olive told me that they used landmarks rather than the stars to travel through the desert."

"Yeah," Hershey confirmed grimly. "It's easier to travel this desert at night, no matter how cold it gets. The sun plays tricks, but not the moon. But if the warriors had the proper navigation skills, then they could get to the Guardians' nest, and not even the Royals want that."

"Because they'd see that the Guardians want to protect what was stolen from them centuries ago," Killer finished. "Not the other way around; which is why Genie won't go back to Godiva."

"Exactly," Hershey nodded with a heavy sigh, looking up at the fabric of his tent overhead. The rebel leader was silent for a long moment, just staring up in deep thought. "You know, my sister never used to be like this," he finally spoke again, his voice hazy from a distance memory. "She used to be kind and innocent; my best friend when we were little," and a ghost of a smile appeared on his chapped lips, but then it turned into a bitter frown. "Then we grew up, and she got special teachings and lessons because she was the princess, but I, as a prince, got nothing. And that's when she learned…about _it_."

"The lamp," Killer coolly said.

Hershey nodded sadly. "She changed. She became bitter and cruel; no longer my sister..." and he paused, his fist clenching the papers on the table. "She killed our mother for more power. It's been happening for years: daughter kills mother."

Killer knew that look in his eyes; the thoughts he felt now towards someone important here completely gone. "You want to kill her."

Hershey was silent and nodded. "I may be banished, but I'm still the Prince and my job is to protect the land, not control it."

"_Hmph,_" Killer huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and then spat: "_Noble,_" still, he didn't want to be about of this.

Hershey glanced at him with narrow eyes, but didn't comment on that and continued on. "If Genie sent you then she thinks you can help us; that's all I ask."

"I have no choice in the matter," Killer felt like this was a habit on this island. "But you have to help me bring back some missing mates of mine. They're still in the desert."

"I—I…" Hershey started to say. "I don't know if I could help with that. Unless you had a character that could teleport then I can't help."

Killer was silent before muttering: "_Shit._"

Hershey looked confused, but then there was a sudden crash from outside the tent, causing sand to splash upward to shield what fell, but Killer knew what it was. The long screech of his name being called by an annoyingly crazy _thing_ made him flinch, but then he whirled around, the topside of his boot making contact with Madeline's creepily cheery face. And she flew backwards, right into the very upset French bomber.

"_Killer!_" Heat shouted as the sand settled down. "There you are!"

Killer was about to yell something back, but Hershey beat him to it.

"_**FIRE!**_"

Killer snapped his head towards the rebel in shock. "_Wai—!_"

**Bang**, the bullets were shot, and Killer was about to go on a rampage as he grabbed Hershey by the collar, ready to slug the bastard, but then the smoke died down, Killer saw that it was only the lady warriors that were shot down, their legs rendering them useless as crimson iron stained the blistering sand.

"S—sorry to have startled you," Hershey gasped within the strong grip. "But we couldn't let the Dogbane warriors run free in our camp."

Killer nodded slowly, glancing over to see his crew was left unharmed, though if a stray bullet had gone through Madeline's head, he wouldn't have minded. Then he let Hershey go and turned to Heat to tell him what he found out, but it was Olive that snared his attention next.

"_Hershey!_" she screeched with rage, her body trembling violently as she clutched her bloody calve. "Don't think you can win this rebellion! We know about all your camps!"

"_Hmph,_" Hershey seemed unconcerned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And so what, we are better equipped than you."

Olive then smirked devilishly, chuckling darkly under her breath. "Princess Godiva put _that_ in account," she sneered with a wicked grin. "That's why she's brought forth an ultimate weapon!" and she pointed towards Killer. "_The Kidd Pirates!_"

* * *

><p>Kidd grunted as he held the bloody rebel by the scruff of his shirt. "These guys suck," he grumbled to Chamberlain, dropping the corpse so it landed in a heap at his feet. "Three waves of 'em and not a scratch on me."<p>

Chamberlain nudged a groaning soldier from his feet with the buff of his staff and then looked to his captain. "Yet you're covered in blood."

Kidd wiped the back of his hand across his lips and then examined the skin stained in red. Then he grinned and chuckled lowly. "Ain't my blood."

* * *

><p>"The pirates are working perfectly, Your Highness."<p>

Godiva smirked to the reflection of the general of her army, chuckling darkly as the smoke rose up in the distance. "Of course," the princess replied boldly. "When Olive told me that pirates helped her, why, I just_ had_ to return the favor," and she giggled wickedly at an explosion went off near the edge of her city.

"A poor favor," the general countered dryly. "You tried to seduce them, used them to steal back the lamp, then against the rebel army, and to top it all off, you're planning to turn in bounties and kill the rest of the crew."

"They're _pirates_," Godiva scoffed unconcerned, rolling her eyes to the heavens. "The only ones who would care is the crew, and out of the entire world? I'm doing it the favor," she chuckled.

"If you say so, Your Highness," the general bowed with respect. "I will make sure the damage caused by the crew is minimal."

"Good," Godiva nodded. "Dismissed." and she watched the reflection of the general leave her chambers. She continued to gaze through the window, grinning with a tiny yet evil smile on her pink lips. "They really are fools," she whispered in amusement.

"So that's been her plan from the start, huh?"

"Seems like it, Master."

Godiva gasped, jumping in shock and she looked to the window, seeing the reflections of a shadow leaning again a pillar and a flying blob behind her, and she knew _that_ voice. Whipping around she, stared at the ginger with wide eyes that landed on the threatening black iron blade gleaming brightly in the light. "How did you get in here? Do anything and I'll scream!"

There was only a dark chuckle as a response as the black blade swept up and pointed at her, the tip flaring white. Godiva yelped in fright, the blade seeming to get closer and closer as her heartbeat went rapid and sweat built up along her skin, and she was about to cry for her general, but the ginger spoke first. "_Caden's Demonic Sword: Wind!_"

A harsh breeze rushed passed her ears, making her screech at the forces almost cutting her flesh and ripping the silk fabric of her clothes to shreds. But then he eyes opened wide, she couldn't hear her own voice shriek in pain.

Then a chuckle cut the silence, making her trembling eyes shoot up to see the ginger shrouded in darkness as six deadly shadows surrounded her, each ones' eyes glowing a different deadly color. "_Scream all you want; you can't get away,_" the ginger spoke in a demonic tone, her golden eyes shining murderously against the darkness running along her facial features. "_Don't screw with the Kidd Pirates; you will get burned._"

Godiva tried to speak, tried to plead for mercy, but the horned shadows all around the ginger told her otherwise; she would get no forgiveness for what she's done. The blade was then before facing the princess once more, but her attention was elsewhere, to the devils walking into the light. Her eyes opened wide, tears collecting at the corners to slip down her cheeks when she saw the deadly beast stalk closer and closer to her.

The ginger then chuckled darkly and ordered: "_Show'er Hell!_"

* * *

><p>AliceLaw, this is fate. I was recently waiting for someone to ask of this and I saw do it!<p>

Now, on with the mini. It will totally be OoC for Killer and Kidd, but I have to do it. For humor. I am sorry, my duckling babies, but it's how I roll. _Cue scene: Elielephant looks epically into the sunset/sunrise_. Yeah, this will be epic.

~...~

Killer groaned deeply as he sat up in bed, feeling like he got ran over by Monkey D. Luffy after he sniffed out a chicken potpie on a windowsill five miles away. He rubbed at the tanned skin of his forehead, pushing up his bangs, but then he pulled back. His skin and hair felt...sticky. Then a soft snoring beside him made him look down, seeing that he wasn't the only person in bed. It was a woman, and a quick look under the covers, Killer saw that he was very naked and so was she. He had sex and he didn't even notice. Huh; weird. He didn't remember getting drunk last night, actually, he never got drunk due to the fact that Kidd was extremely stupid when wasted, or violent; he nearly destroyed the main mass one time.

But, when the mystery woman rolled over, he felt it eyes pop out of their sockets.

It was Madeline.

He roared in ugly disgust that he was roofied and raped by a stick of a girl.

But then with a gasp of fright, he felt himself rise in a cold sweat. Looking wildly around his cabin on the ship, he saw nothing out of line, and his bed was empty, it was merely a bad dream. Or rather a nightmare, that caused chills to run up and down his spine and he darted out of bed and dashed out the door going to the safest place he could think of: Kidd's room.

"**_What the fuckin' hell!_**" Kidd shouted as Killer dove under the blankets between him and Gabriella. "_**Killer! What the fuck!**_"

Killer simply poked his bang covered eyes over the sheets and said: "I had a nightmare."

"_I don't give a flying fuck!_" Kidd snapped. "_Get the hell outta my room, damnit!_"

"About Madeline," Killer cringed, as little Daniel would when he had bad dreams of his island.

"_Awe,_" Gabriella cooed motherly, and wrapped her arms around the blondes head and pulled him to her bosom for maternal comfort, which made Kidd's eye twitchy with annoyance. Ultimately the red head was ignored; when Gabriella was in mother mood, she stayed in mother mood until the bitter end "It's okay, honey, you can stay here, how's that sound, hmm?"

"_**What!**_" Kidd screamed, his eyes going wide and his jaw going slack in shock, rage, and slight awkwardness to the situation. "_Gabriella, He's a fuckin' adult! He ain't that brat you know! You can't be serious!_"

A pointed glare told him she was very serious.

Kidd grumbled a long line of profanities towards his first mate, extremely upset. Though out of his curses, the only one heard was: "Cock block."

Though, he was ignored as Gabriella patted Killer on the head, as if he was rather Daniel than a grown-ass-adult. But then she frowned, confused, and asked: "Killer, why's your hair...oddly _sticky?_"

Killer's skin flushed a deadly, pale white.


	82. Chapter 79: Bombs Away!

AliceLaw: Kidd will be very proud of her. :) I thought it fitting that Gabriella slaughters Godiva since she hasn't gotten much action, but I'll fit that for the next arc! And glad you liked your mini. :)

Alpenwolf: If anyone knows hell, it would be Gabs and her devils. :p

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: She's fucked is an understatement; she's dead is better. :3

Girl-luvs-manga: :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Hershey will try his best...with his newfounded allies of course. :D

Sorry for mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 79: Bombs Away!<p>

Red splattered against the walls.

Blood stained the marble floors.

Gabriella huffed as she sheathed her Ohdan's sword so that the six devils' bodies turned to wisps of light and slipped into the gems along the hilt of the blade. Her shoulders then dropped and she wiped the back of her hand over her mouth. She had never unleashed all six devils before. Truthfully she was surprised she even did it without collapsing; it must have been the anger that swelled in her gut. She knew something was up the moment she met that royal-fucker, and spying on her was the best idea the summoner mage had. Godiva was a tricky-witchy bitch, and if she could suck not only Kidd but also Killer, the more cautious of the two, into a fabricated plan to their deaths, the crew would have been in extreme trouble.

But, since the master craftsman of the plan was a crisp piece of burnt flash on the floor, the Kidd Pirates had nothing to worry about now. They were good when it came to using confusion as an advantage. The whole army was in disarray because their ruler had been mercilessly killed not so mysteriously. The lady warriors would definitely be on the defensive after this, which would put her crew in the offensive once the island found out about Godiva; they would think it was a sign that the Kidd Pirates knew they were being played as fools.

"Heh," she scoffed with disgust, turning away from the corpse. "Let's go, Musket. We should check on the ship."

Musket nodded. "Yes, Master."

* * *

><p>A large yet dark grin appeared on his red-painted lips as the foolish rebels charged him with cocked rifles and sharpened sabers, acting as if that would help them. They roared with a battle cry for their country to be reformed by the ex-prince so that there may be honest peace throughout the land. Kidd cared little of this war of the man leading it for that matter; he was going to kill him anyway.<p>

Putting a hand out before him, the power of his devil fruit powers boiled to the surface to make his pale skin spark and metal within range trembled in the hands of his enemies. Then all weapons flew to him in a dangerous cloud, making all men, whether it may be pirate or rebel, duck for cover. Of course, his men were used to the situation of being in his line of fire after the years together, but the rebels weren't as lucky. Some fell with red gashes along chests from blade edges or got knocked out from the butt of a rifle hitting the right place.

Though, not all rebels fell to this, but Kidd had other means of dealing with that. He smirked. "_Repel_," then muttered through a whisper, the tiniest of chuckles fluttering past his lips as purple sparks came from his out stretched arm.

The scraps of iron and steel jetted back to their former owners none to friendly. They dispersed; rifles from the rebels going off so bullets fired upon them and sabers spinning wildly to pierce the ground and flesh alike. The rebel men tried to retreat for cover, but the pirates were well experienced in dealing damage to those who tried to hide. The bombs that Jacques left behind were used to the fullest extend to take out the rebels behind walls. Flames burst from every small explosion along with shrapnel, broken metal and bloody limbs.

Kidd's grin widened, almost stretching from ear to ear. "Seems like this isn't too bad…" he trailed, flexing his fingers to call back the metal he just sent away. The scarps collected and built up high to make his trademark metal arm that struck fear in the hearts of anyone he came across that couldn't handle it. With a roar, he was about to rain down his iron fist when something caught his eye.

"_**FALL BACK MEN!**_" and the rebels instantly listened to the command and backed off swiftly to avoid anymore fire.

Kidd knew who it was. It was Godiva's banished brother, Hershey. Kidd could tell just by the way he looked. Once he killed this man, then Kidd would get his rewards and then was free to go, finally. "Time to take you out once and for all," Kidd sneered with an evil grin as he locked onto the target that would end this all.

But before he could even move, a hand latched onto his shoulder, forcing him to take a sudden step back.

"_Kidd!_"

Kidd's eyes opened wide and his smirk fell to a slack frown when he heard the urgency in his first mate's voice behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the death grip of Killer's against the fur of his coat. "Wha—"

"_Stop fighting, Kidd!_" Killer shouted at the top of his lungs and jerked his hand back to keep Kidd from escaping his grasp. "We were tricked." He then gravely said.

Kidd froze his eyes snapped wide with as his pupils dilated with rage. "What?" He growled with an animalistic tone as his teeth started.

"Godiva was going to kill us from the start," Killer explained hurriedly. "She was using us to get the lamp."

Kidd grew stiff, completely ridge to the point his clenched muscle bloomed with pain. He had no words to say for his jaw locked so tightly from rage and all he could do was turn his head towards the palace. Though, his rage fizzled to confusion when he thought he saw flames through a large window. But when he squinted his eyes, it looked more like a wave of blood splattering against the glass.

Though he shook it off and looked to Killer. His first mate was silent and they simply stared at one another since the battle simmered to a stand still. The rebels no longer attacked them, their leader explaining the situation to them. The pirates though, didn't need an explanation. When their captain stopped, so did they.

"What now, Kidd?" Killer spoke up, his glaze observing the rebels from afar. "They won't attack us anymore."

"Hmph," Kidd grunted, sneering at the sight. "This isn't our problem. Fucking Civil War."

Killer was silent for a moment then his body language told Kidd his first mate had something else to say, but was stopped by the thundering stomps of feet. The royal army was now here to play. And now that the lady warriors were here, they could deal with their own shit because he didn't need Killer full explanation. They were never getting the wishes, so they had no business here. Or so he thought.

"**Kill the rebels and pirates!**" The general roared to her minions. "**They killed Princess Godiva!**"

Kidd's eyes opened wide; there was no way he killed the princess no matter how much he had wanted to. But it was still impossible for his entire crew was here expect for Doc who was watching over Daniel, Benjamin and Hamish. Then who was is—

His eyes opened wide and he remembered the images of fire and blood from the palace window. Gabriella; she stood up not only for him as the captain, but also the crew.

Killer slowly looked his way. "Did you figure it out and was just killing everyone?"

"Don't ruin the moment," was all Kidd said with a smirk.

Killer just grunted. "Well, now we _have_ to fight."

"Not really complaining," he admitted as waved a hand to his crew, signaling them to fight back against the new enemy with the former one. "I've wanted to kill these bitches for awhile now."

Killer grunted again, watching the crew go after the lady warriors baring only spears and crossbows. "Let's hope that all the boobs don't affect their fighting."

Kidd rolled his eyes, annoyed at the petty thought, but over all ignored and began stalking into battle with grin and out stretched hand that sparked purple to make metal come to his fingers. "Stop trying to ruin the god damn moment," was all he said before charging into the fight alongside his crew.

* * *

><p>"Oi, oi! Did you see that?"<p>

"Fuck! Those slavers had the life sucked right outta them!"

"Who was that chick? A power like that is wanted poster worthy!"

"Bombs away then. She could be an enemy."

"Bombs away?"

"_Bombs away!_"

"**BOMBS AWAY!**"

"_Wait!_"

All stared silently at the one that opposed.

"She looked kinda h—"

The pirate's sentence was cut off when a large fist whacked him upside the head.

"Thank you, Captain Block," the small men perched and the fleet commander sighed. "These guys are just a horny bunch, aren't they?"

"Oi! Zip it, Oz!" A blushing mate snapped. "It's hard not to get a little excited considering the rumor of this island, ya know."

Oz scoffed, rolling his eyes to the heavens and then crossed his tiny arms over his equally small chest. "Rumors don't mean their fact whatsoever, we are just here to investigate them to see if they're worth it. But that girl..." Oz trailed off, glancing with firm stare where the women had disappeared off to. "She looks like a threat to the Fleet."

"I bet she's like a spider," someone said. "If you don't bug them then they don't bug you," he explained and the others nodded in agreement with him.

Oz's brow twitched with annoyance. "We'll just call Boss; he'll know what to do."

* * *

><p>Happy-Late-Valentine's-Day my lovelies.<p>

Here is a mini for you all. Enjoy~

~...~

Kidd was not looking forward to today. He grumbled and cursed under his breath as he walked to school, knowing exactly what was going to happen. It had been like this for three years, that stupid annoying Roland Gabriella asking him to be her Valentine. But it was the way she did it every time, multiple times that day. It would be embarrassing moments that caused the school he ruled to laugh at him like a fool. He hated her for that and just wanted her to leave him alone, forever.

At the main gates, he gulped especially when he saw her waiting at the doors, eyes glued to her phone. "I really hate today," he finally spoke.

Killer glanced over to him. "If you say yes she'll stop."

Kidd glared at him. "This is your fault anyway!" he snapped. "If you hadn't of made that bet with Bedros freshmen year..."

Killer scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Get over it," and he started to walk over.

Kidd shuffled behind, trying to keep his composure no matter what. He was a senior and there was no way he was going to let Gabriella trample his reputation. Though, as he got closer and closer to her, his heart started pounding. God, he hated today.

Then he passed her, the ginger not so much sending him a glance.

Kidd blinked in confusion and he looked over his shoulder so see why. And his eyes opened wide when he saw he run over to none other than Ace. Looking away from the sight, he blinked in confusion as an odd feeling started to build up in his gut. It was unwelcoming and continued to grow more and more as the day went on and he didn't know what was going on with him.

Killer clarified it for him. "You're jealous."

Kidd could only stare in disbelief. There was no way he could be jealous of anything between Ace and Gabriella, he didn't even like Gabriella...right? As the day went on, his mind became more and more conflicted over the thought until the last bell of the day rang and he saw the scene.

Ace hugged her.

It was so small, but it was enough for Kidd to start seeing red and he marched over to the happy moment and ripped it back as he grabbed Gabriella by the hand to drag her away. She didn't make a peep the entire time and when they were alone, he stopped and whipped around to face her. "Why the fuck are you with Ace?"

Gabriella cocked her head to the side and blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Why have you been hanging out with Ace all day?" Kidd snapped. "You didn't talk much less look at me all day!"

"Because Ace and I had a project due at the end of the day," Gabriella started to explain. "And we didn't start it until this morning."

Kidd was silent, feeling absolutely stupid that he misjudged everything. He didn't need Gabriella to make him look like a fool today, he just did it in a matter of seconds. "..." he had no words to say.

Gabriella then smirked sweetly. "Were you..._jealous?_" she questioned as she grabbed his hands playfully and stepped on her tippy toes to get a good view of his pink cheeks.

"No!" He snapped, yet he made no attempts to escape from her grasp. "I...I was just confused."

"Mm-hmm," Gabriella hummed skeptically. "_Right~?_ And since you brought up the fact that we didn't talk today...will you be my Valentine, Kidd?"

Kidd looked away, grumbling curses under his breath, but then he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and mumbled. "Yes..." and the answer made Gabriella giggle and kiss his cheek.

~...~

Ace stood at the foot of the school steps and smirked proudly. "A job well done."

Marco eyed him curiously. "What job well done? What have you done today?"

Ace looked over to his friend and gave him a wink and thumbs up. "Playing match-maker."


	83. Chapter 80: Mermaid Hidaway

Neeky-chan: I guess Gabriella was a little awesome, and thank you for liking the mini. :)

Girl-luvs-manga: Kidd knows about Gabriella's power...I just haven't written about it in so long...

Alpenwolf: All your guesses, sadly, were wrong. WAY off, you see down below. :p

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Killer and Ace share a bond: they are relationship goroos. :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Kidd is very proud of her, very proud. :D

Sorry for mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 80: Mermaid Hideaway<p>

The water coming down from the showerhead was warm and relaxing. Gabriella sighed heavenly at the feeling when the thick coats of drying blood peeled off with the blanket of desert sand covering her skin. The pink tinted water swirled down the drain at her feet, taking the small pebbles of sand with it. It'd probably annoy Kidd to no end that the water pipes got clogged with sand again, but Gabriella didn't care at the moment. All she wanted was to be clean of her crimes.

Then there was a light rap of knuckles to the door before it creaked open. Curious, she pushed away the sea green curtains to see who it was, though she had a pretty good guess in mind who it was.

Kidd slipped into the bathroom and closed the door slowly behind him before leaning against it with his back. Then he smirked oddly at her as he crossed his arms comfortably over his chest.

Gabriella quirked a brow at his strange expression before shrugging lightly and went back to her shower; she still needed to wash her hair again. Blood was much harder to get out of her ginger locks then off her tanned skin.

"What're you doing?" Kidd then asked with his voice full of amusement.

Her brows knitted in light confusion. "I'm obviously taking a shower with Musket," she answered, unsure if that's what he wanted to hear, but it was true. She was taking a shower, and glancing down at her feet, she saw her familiar washing his scaly skin with a second piece of soap.

"I can see that, but didn't you take a shower before we left this morning?"

Gabriella felt like she knew what he was implying, which could be one of two very different choices. "Yeah? Well I went out today," she replied.

"Mm-hmm," Kidd hummed. "So, you have a good time, then?"

Gabriella knew exactly what he was talking about then, and she grinned with a tiny chuckle. "Maybe~" she chirped sweetly.

A deep chuckle rumbled from Kidd's throat. "That's good, babe," he told her. "You did good," and the thick heels of this boots clicked against the tiled floor.

Gabriella then peeked around the curtain again, seeing him grin proudly down at her, which made her smile in return. Then he leaned over and gingerly kissed her damp cheek.

Then his eyes opened wide, as if something dawned on him. "I have something for you, too," he added, pulling back to dig through his pockets. "Before I forget, Killer got something before we left Dogbane. Its from Hershey who said its from Djinn. It's for you and Madeline said it's magical," and then he pulled out a gold ring with a black ebony jewel on top.

She stared at it curiously while plucking it from Kidd's hand. Inspecting thoroughly, she saw that it was enchanted gold…but there was something more to it that she couldn't pin point. "Hmm," it was strange.

"What?" Kidd questioned, tilting to the side. "Is it not magical? If it isn't then someone's lucky we already left a god damn island," he snarled viciously.

A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek, though it was hard to tell with all the water dripping from her hair. "No, that's not it. It is magical, but…more powerful than normal enchanted gold, I think."

Kidd silent rage simmered down as his brows unknotted themselves so he could eye her curiously. "Really, so that's a good thing."

"Yeah…" Gabriella mumbled softly as she placed the tiny gold band over her pinkie then observed her hand from afar. "I don't know what it'll do yet, but at least Maddie and me don't have to share the necklace anymore."

"True," Kidd nodded, agreeing with her.

_Ring, ring! Ring, ring!_

Kidd snapped his head to the sound of the den-den mushi going off in the other room. His brows furrowed with mild curiosity and he left the bathroom briefly to pick it up.

Gabriella went back to her shower, but listened in on the conversation.

"_Oz? Wait, what? Bombs away, what the hell! Tell them to shut up so I can hear you, damn it!_"

Gabriella chuckled; it was Block's first mate. She wondered briefly why the Muscle Rock Pirates were calling, and then her answer came when Kidd skeptically questioned:

"_A Mermaid Cove?_"

* * *

><p>Kidd stood in course sane of the hidden bay, annoyed. "Oz," he looked to the small man perched atop of Block's shoulder. "Why the hell did you bring me to a fucking island that has an Auction House on it? The World Nobles really don't like me, you know," he dryly said.<p>

"This doesn't have to do with the Auction House," Oz scoffed then tapped his heel against his captain's shoulder. "Right, Captain Block?"

Block merely grunted, his lower lip jetting out as his brows furrowed in a straight line and his eyes narrowed into two frustrated slits.

"It looks like Block doesn't want to be here either," Killer observed.

"Hmph," Oz huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. "This is an opportunity for beli, damnit."

"But capturing mermaids and selling them?" Kidd questioned. "No thanks, I'm not into the slave trade business."

"The mermaids are only a rumor!" Oz snapped irritably. "This is about a fucking huge purple jewel!"

Kidd blinked, looked to Killer then back at Oz and Block. "Okay, I'm listening."

* * *

><p>Daniel looked between the pegs of the railing, observing the Kidd Pirates and their leading commanding fleet's crew, the Muscle Rock's, help with ship repairs since they just got out of a deadly Sea King attack. Captain Kidd was not pleased to say the least for his beloved ship almost came down by a sea beast that looked like a snow hare. When the Sea King wasn't trying to eat them whole, it looked rather cute. But in the end, it was killed thanks to Gabriella's magic. She summoned something…what it was no one knew nor did they want to; all they saw was the Sea King get dragged under the violent waves and then only bones flutter to the surface. Scary, but powerful; Daniel would admit that.<p>

Glancing over, he saw Gabriella sitting on a rock, tossing Hamish's worn tennis ball for the pup to retrieve and then take back. The action was repeated over and over again, neither party getting tired of it. Though, when Captain Kidd was gone…then Gabriella would go too…

"I wonder if she'll let me come…" he pondered aloud.

"She might," Benjamin the bear replied at his side, shifting his hold on the large book in his arms. "You have trained quite a lot with Mister Killer and Doctor James. Plus, I assume if you were with Miss Gabriella, you would be safe."

Daniel shot the bear an annoyed glare. "I'm not a helpless kid anymore," he snapped bitterly. "I'm strong now and I have the strength to protect Gabriella, so she'll never get hurt again!" and then he stormed away from the bear before anything else could be said.

How dare Benjamin say that; Daniel wasn't some sobbing brat that cried over the hard times, he was a fighter now and even a novice medic. Thanks to Killer and Doc, he was able to get the skills that would help in almost all situations. Gabriella wouldn't get captured again with him watching over her now.

He felt as if he should tell the summoner mage this, and that's what he did. Walking over to her, he stood in front Gabriella firmly.

The summoner mage eyes him curiously, a sweet smile on her lips. "Yes?" she questioned, amused at his rather serious stance.

"I wanna go with you, Gabriella," Daniel told her sharply, puffing on his chest to make himself look even more important.

Gabriella chuckled lightly. "You wanna team up with me?" she asked.

"No, you're gonna team up with me," he corrected, smirking proudly. "I'll protect you!"

Gabriella laughed heartily, closing her eyes and throwing her head back. "Okay, okay!" she said, looking back at him with a large smile as she stood up from the rock. "I'll team up with you, Dannie," and she ruffled his blonde hair with a hand.

Daniel snickered with a large grin. "I promise to keep you safe!" He declared.

She giggled. "Okay, baby," she patted his head one more time before turning to Hamish. "Now you," she nudged the chubby pup with her toe. "Go see Daddy."

Hamish woofed stubbornly and plopped down on his rump, refusing to move.

Gabriella eyed her puppy curiously, and with hands on her hips, she asked: "Do you wanna come, too?"

Hamish barked happily and leaped back to his feet, wagging his little tail eagerly.

She smiled, laughing lightly. "Looks like I'll be super safe," she said sweetly as she grabbed Daniel's tiny hand. "Lead the way, honey."

And that Daniel did.

* * *

><p>Though Gabriella was holding his hand, Daniel still led the way. With the golden orbs of the summoner mage's lightening the dark tunnels they traveled into, Daniel picked the paths they took, and it made him feel rather important and special. But, he could not let this cloud his mind; this was a dangerous area.<p>

"We have to be careful," Daniel warned her sternly. "Killer said this was slaver's territory and there's an Auction House here. Since the popular one at Shabondy was destroyed, the World Government replaced it here because of the three large Marine Bases only thirty minutes away. Very powerful Marines there, but the slavers are just as bad, too."

"Oh really?" Gabriella awed, her brow rising curiously. "Then we better make sure we avoid those guys, huh."

"Yup," Daniel nodded. "But even if we accidently come across them, I'll protect you," he proudly said.

Gabriella giggled, smiling down at him. "I'm glad I'm protected by such strong boys," she sweetly said, tightening her grip on his hand and looked to Hamish. She blinked in confusion. "Hammie?" She called out to the pup, finding him nowhere in sight. "Oh, darn it, Hammie wandered off…"

"We can look for him," Daniel suggested. "I know he's really important to you."

"Thanks, Dannie," she smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You're such a sweet kid; that's why I love you so much~."

"I'm not a kid!" Daniel snapped, pushed her away. "I'm a man!" and he stomped away, flustered.

Gabriella laughed as she followed after him. "Of course, of course," she replied, catching up to him to ruffle his blonde hair. "You are a man, baby."

Daniel found her comment to be conflicting, but they were on a mission: find Hamish. The pup wandered off, which is something Hamish was not known for, or at least not going far. The dog was completely gone and it took a few minutes of searching and calling until they heard the faint barks coming deep within the caves. They followed the sound of the puppy until the golden orbs of Gabriella's magic lit up a cavern with a lake of sea water.

Hamish paid no attention to Gabriella or Daniel as they walked over to the yapping pup. The dog continued to loudly bark at the water as if something was there that they couldn't see.

Daniel couldn't tell what was in the water, it was too mucky and dark to see anything, but when he glanced over to Gabriella, he saw her body stiffen as her eyes scanned the area closely while a hand when to the hilt of her sword. Upon seeing the action, Daniel gulped and timidly placed his shaky hand on the hilt of his own dagger.

There was a long moment of silence, even Hamish had stopped barking and only stared out at the lake. Then there was the sound of splashing close by, making Daniel yelp, startled and he shuffled closer to Gabriella. He hid behind her leg, watching as Gabriella started to remove her blade from its sheath.

"**NO! THEY'RE MINE!**"

A scream bellowed from behind and before Gabriella or Daniel could even turn around, a giant purple beam rammed into Gabriella's back, sending her in the lake of water.


	84. Chapter 81: Bucket Ladies

Son of Whitebeard: We'll see, we'll see if she is.

Girl-luvs-manga: It's a shock. :p

AliceLaw: Dannie is almost 10; isn't getting so big. *sniff-sniff* I'm so proud.

Alpenwolf: There was a fight on Dogbane, but I really didn't think a giant fight sense was needed. So, I moved on with the plot.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: It's Kidd's fortune, so yeah, you could say that she does have that labeled on her back.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: :D is all I can say. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 81: Bucket Ladies<p>

Daniel froze when he saw Gabriella get hit out of nowhere by the beam of purple light, his heart dropping to the pit of his stomach. He told her he would protect her, yet here she was, getting sent flying by an unknown force. It wasn't until the splash of Gabriella breaking the water's surface did Daniel move. He whipped around, screaming: "**Gabriella!**" his voice a high pitched mess of worry.

The only sound was the echoing cackle of a old man and the bark of Hamish beside him. Daniel stood there, frozen, watching the lake's rippling surface for Gabriella's head to pop up. The seconds ticked by, one second too many. He dropped his dagger from his white-knuckle grip and dashed to the water's edge, ready to dive in to safe the most important person in his life. But, before he could jump in, Gabriella reappeared.

The summoner mage gasped loudly for air, treading water easily thanks to the sudden appearance of two other girls helping her up.

"_G—Gabriella!_" He cried, his voice still pitched to the heavens, but the tone filled with relief.

"_**MINE!**_"

Daniel yelped at the sound of the old man again, and in one swift move, he picked up his dagger again and then pointed it towards the man that dared hurt his Gabriella.

The wrinkly old man in black robe snickered wildly at the sight, his pink snout scrunching up with each disgusting snort he made. "You think that'll stop me, brat?" The old man cackled, leaning against his staff with large purple gem atop for support. "I have all the power in the world; a little rut like you could never touch me."

"S—shut up!" Daniel stuttered, shaking slightly; his training never involved this kind of action. He never fought an enemy before.

The old man saw his nervousness like it a beating red light; and he laughed wildly at the boy.

Daniel wouldn't freeze again, not matter how much his body just wanted to lock his joints. He couldn't reach the old man, he was up high on a ledge that over looked cavern lake. But, he could throw the blade. Killer taught him that the enemy was always reachable, and if you couldn't slice and dice, then throw and hurl. Daniel knew he could make it; the distance was shorter than anything Killer made him do. Yet, he couldn't take up the stance. He did the exact thing he didn't want to do: he froze.

"_Dannie!_" Gabriella called out to him desperately. "_Dannie!_"

Daniel snapped his head towards the summoner mage, seeing that Gabriella and the two other girls had taken refuge behind a large rock, little gold orbs lighting the area, which allowed Daniel to see what the other girls looked like. Twins; long blonde hair that was damp from the lake and pale skin from the lack of sunlight. Though, the only face he focused on was Gabriella's.

Gabriella leaned against the wall, jabbing a finger to the tunnel that led to the exit. "_Go get Kidd!_"

"B—but—!"

"_**Now!**_" Gabriella snapped loudly.

Daniel nodded quickly and turned sharply on his heel and left his feet carrying his feet as fast as they could take them, and he didn't stop and question when Gabriella yelled one last thing to me.

"_And tell him to bring shirts!_"

* * *

><p>Chamberlain shoved a newspaper in Kidd's face.<p>

Kidd blinked, his brow arching slightly. "What the fuck? Don't you see I'm talking here?" He said, waving his mechanical hand towards Killer, Block and Oz.

"That's nice," Chamberlain dully replied. "Now read this."

Kidd snatched the newspaper from his navigator and flicked it open. He saw the headlines and his eyes opened wide with shock. "Doflamingo stepped down from his high horse."

There was silence.

"You mean…" Killer slowly said. "He's stepped down from the Shichbukai? What the fuck? Hasn't he been a Warlord for, what, _ten_ years?"

"Hmm…" Oz hummed, tapping his heel against Block's board chest. "That's really strange. What else does it say, Boss?"

Kidd quickly flipped from the headlines and went deeper into the story where he was greeted by the grinning faces of his rivals, one smug and the other just plain stupid looking. Besides the pictures, Kidd still shamelessly slack-jaw-gawked at the sight of the article title; what the fuck was going on with the world? "Trafalgar and Strawhat are in an _alliance._"

Killer stiffened. "_What?_ Are you fucking serious—?"

"_Wait,_" Oz then suddenly spoke up, confused as he waved his hands around to get everyone's attention. "Isn't Trafalgar a Shichbukai and isn't Strawhat a major enemy of the World Government that Trafalgar's aligned with, right?"

Captain Blocked grunted with a nod to his first mate's wordy question.

"That's what I thought," Oz returned the nod and crossed his arms over his chest.

Killer stared at the two that interrupted him and looked back to Kidd, repeating his question. "Are you fucking serious? Why the hell would Trafalgar team up with Strawhat? He'd lose his Warlord title for this."

"The WG hasn't taken any action yet," Kidd quoted the article. "That's fuckin' weird. Strawhat trashed Enies Lobby, Impel Down _and_ Marine Ford. Plus, word on the grapevine says he's the son of Dragon. Admittedly, he's public enemy number one since he's come out of hiding."

"Anyone aligned with Strawhat becomes an enemy of the Government," Killer agreed. "But…I wonder what those two are up to."

Kidd was silent for a moment and continued to flip through the papers, which led him to the next lovely shock, making him scowl darkly. "The Government knows about our alliance, what the _fuck!_ We haven't even done anything! How the hell did that found out!"

Killer was silent, looked to Chamberlain then back to his flustered captain. "You guys took down a Big Mom Commander ship after the alliance."

"It was actually more like Apoo and Kidd did," Chamberlain corrected. "Hawkins was against it so he just kinda sat back on the sidelines."

"Ooh yeah…" Killer nodded as the memory started to come back. "I remember that. Now I see why it was a bad idea."

"Shut it!" Kidd snapped, irritated at his first mate. "Just because we sunk a ship together shouldn't have raised flags like that! And who the hell's this Abusa bastard!"

Killer shrugged. "Who knows; he's a freelance writer that's been getting the dirt on all the big names out there. Someone in the Fleet could of say something."

"Donavan and fucking lily-ass Token," Kidd growled, the paper's edge crumbling with in his grip. They get drunk; they talk too much. Damn, fucking idiotic morons."

Oz looked at the Kidd, tilting his head to the side. "How do you know it's them?"

"Because they're fucking idiotic morons!" Kidd repeated, irritated.

"Hmm…" Oz hummed in thought. "My guess's still Owen's not-so-nice wife, Anna."

Kidd groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "I'm going to take a step back and talk about something else. Like that the hell Trafalgar and Strawhat are planning?"

Oz's brow arched, curious. "And what do you think their planning?"

Kidd turned back the page, staring at the article about his rivals. They had something to do with Doflamingo stepping down; there was no doubt about it, even if the paper didn't tie any links. And Doflamingo, there were rumors…vague rumors that he was apart of the underground and that he had a _big_ paying costumer, the emperor kind, in the limelight. Pressing his lips into a thin line; Kidd saw something big.

A dark smirk then spread from ear to ear. "There's no mistake, they're after a Yonko just like us. The only question is who they're after."

The question couldn't be debated since the scream of the boy came to ear as his rushed into Killer, clinging to his leg.

All the men blinked in shock, though Killer remained calm and peeled the boy away.

"What's wrong?" Killer questioned.

Daniel took in deep breaths of air before muttered with a ragged tone: "G—Gabriella needs help!"

And Kidd was gone in a flash, ignoring anything Daniel yelled at him in the background.

* * *

><p>Kidd had no idea where the fuck he was going. Running blindly into a situation the moment he heard if Gabriella was in trouble wasn't a good idea, ever. He knew this for awhile now, but that fortune still haunted him. He had to make sure she was safe; he would feel guilty if she was captured again. It felt as if it was his fault.<p>

Then, deep in the caves that Daniel guided them into, he heard Hamish barking wildly, howling to any that could listen. Kidd turned sharply that way, taking the front as he led the pack. Skidding to a halt at the edge of cavern lake, he roared: "**Gabriella!**" when he saw the orbs of gold light dancing off the water's relfection

"_Kidd!_" She answered immediately, her head, followed by two other girls, peeked around the corner of a rock.

Kidd stared for a moment when he saw two other frightened blonde clinging to his summoner mage;s shoulders, but he shook it off and got back on track. "Are you okay? Get over here, now!"

"I'm fine!" She called back, not moving an inch from where she was. "But I can't go anywhere! Did you bring the shirts?"

Kidd blinked in shock, a totally _what-the-fuck_ moment written on his face and he looked to Killer and Chamberlain who both shrugged.

Then Daniel spoke up. "I—I—" he stammered, hands on his knees to regain his breath. "I tried to tell him…"

Gabriella glared at Kidd, her golden eyes going narrow. "Damnit, Kidd! I need a fucking shirt!"

"Why fuck do you need one?" Kidd shouted back, utterly confused. "You have a shirt!"

"Not anymore!" Gabriella snapped full of attitude.

"…" Kidd was silent, telling the information sink it. "_**WHAT!**_" He roared, his eyes growing murderous with each passing nanosecond. "_**Who the fuck took your shirt!**_"

"_No one did!_" Gabriella shrieked back.

Kidd's rage simmered to confusion, but tone was still rough to the core. "Fuck, what happened to it then?"

Gabriella held out a hand. "Give me your shirt and I'll show you."

"That's a waste of time!" Kidd snapped. "Just tell me!"

Gabriella snapped, angry that he wasn't just listening to her and she abruptly jumped up to sit on the rock. Kidd stood there, shocked for two reasons, Chamberlain looked away, feeling awkward, and Killer slapped his hand over Daniel's innocent little eyes. Gabriella said nothing else and merely crossed her arms over her bare chest and waved her new tailfins towards her baffled boyfriend.

* * *

><p>Gabriella and the other two girls, June and Riley, all had shirts now, courtesy of Kidd, Killer and Chamberlain walking around shirtless. Also, since all three girls no longer had legs, they had to be carried by the men, which made a certain thin summoner mage upset. Like a bloodhound after a bleeding rabbit, Madeline charged poor Riley in Killer's arms, ready to kill. Killer, though, brought up his leg so in a deadly kick, his heel rammed into the thin summoner mage's cheek to send her flying. Riley, never seeing such violence, yelped and tightened her grip around the masked blonde's neck.<p>

Kidd ignored that petty obsessed-one-sided-love issue and ordered his crew to get a bucket. Yet, there was fucking confusion because someone got a mop bucket. A _mop bucket_ sure as hell wasn't going to hold three mermaids. So, after a few hits to the head, someone got an old washing basin that was then filled with sea water and placed on the beach.

Kidd just stood there, watching the three mermaids lounging back to back in the washing basin their fins lapping against the waves around up the beach. Daniel was talking to her about something, but Kidd could careless. No offense to the kid, but he had a bigger problem on his hands right now.

"Gabriella is a mermaid now," he bluntly stated the obvious. "What the fuck?"

Oz blinked repeatedly at the sight, like he had since the moment he saw the three mermaids. "How the hell did that happen? Did the kid see anything or something?"

"Daniel said he saw an old man with a staff that had a large purple gem on top," Killer answered.

"Purple gem…" Bedros mumbled.

"_Purple gem!_" Oz shouted, his eyes going wide. "That's _my_ purple gem! That old fuck has _my_ gem!"

Kidd scowled at him. "You mean _my_ gem."

"Uh…yeah, Boss," Oz nervously agreed. "Your gem, your gem, totally."

"Wait, wait, _wait_," Bedros physically stepped into the conversation by moving into the middle of the circle. "Purple gem? That could mean _enchanter's_ magic."

Killer eyed the stone devil skeptically. "How do you know that?"

"I don't," Bedros admitted. "Madeline would know more, but _she's_ knocked out cold," and everyone looked to the thin summoner mage on the ground as some troublemakers from the Muscle Rock and Kidd crews stared to draw funny pictures on her face with a permanent maker. Kidd grumbled darkly at the stupidity, but it was ignored as Bedros looked to Killer.

Killer shrugged. "Force of habit," he dryly said.

"Okay, whatever," Kidd spoke up. "Since Madeline's down for the count, we'll talk to Gabriella and—" He stopped when he saw that she was nowhere in sight. "Well fuck. Where the hell did she and those bitches go _now?_"

* * *

><p>Daniel clung tightly to Gabriella's neck, looking over her shoulder as she swan through the shallow water's of the bay. "Um…Gabriella…?"<p>

"Yes, baby?" she replied as she focused on swimming and following both June and Riley.

"Won't…Captain Kidd get mad at us for leaving like this?" Daniel asked sheepishly.

"No, baby," Gabriella airily laughed and shook her head the happily chirped. "I left him a note."

* * *

><p>Kidd unpinned the slightly damp paper from the edge of the washing basin and quietly read to himself.<p>

_Kidd,_

_I got bored of setting there like a bucket lady and I wanted to stretch my legs—err, fin, actually. So, anyway! Me and the girls went out for a swim. Oh, and I brought Dannie with me, too._

_I love you lots and lots! :)_

_See you later._

_Love, Gabriella._

Kidd looked up and crumbled the note in his fist. "She's such a damn idiot."


	85. Chapter 82: Auction House

AliceLaw: I think the look on Kidd's face would have been priceless, too...lol.

Trafalgar Riley: Good to hear from you again; it's been awhile. I'm glad that you're still enjoying it. :)

Girl-luvs-manga: Yeah...Gabriella wasn't all too smart in her choices...but she didn't like being a bucket lady.

robin3zoro: I know what baka means, but I think Gabriella was more of a baka than Kidd.

Alpenwolf: Lol, June and Riley are new characters, so it's okay not to know them. They just didn't get a big entrance, that's all.

Shininheart of ThunderClan: Awe~ you makin' me blush. Though, I think my biggest twist was probably...you know...killing Ameria, but hey, Gabriella suddenly losing her legs for a fin is big too. Kidd must be mad; no vagina for him.

Lizzy: Glad you liked the title, and also glad you like the story so far.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: I was going to give the girls shells, but I thought it would be funnier if they were shirtless, lol. Guess I made the right decision. :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 82: Auction House<p>

Kidd pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning darkly in annoyance. "Is her mission in life to piss me off?"

"Yes," Killer dully replied.

Kidd snapped his attention to his first mate and scowled at him. "Don't push me," he warned coldly.

"I was only kidding," Killer put his hand up in defense.

Kidd ignored the comment and went silent as he held his chin in thought. He could understand that Gabriella would be a little pissed she was turned into a mermaid so suddenly and lost her ability to walk, but she shouldn't have ran—err, swam off. This was a World Government protected island due to an Auction House that just _loved _to display mermaids as the main attraction. Gabriella wasn't a legit mermaid, so to speak, but she had a fin like one which meant some fucking stuffy World Noble would pay millions for her. The memories from Shabondy stared to resurface and he remembered a rich faggot said he wanted to put a mermaid in a tank full of giant _piranhas_.

_No_, Kidd would not allow that to happen. _Fuck_, he wouldn't allow her to step foot on that hell of a stage.

It really felt like Shabondy all over again, but this time he was in Strawhat's shoes, and now Kidd could completely understand why the rubber captain so easily punched a World Noble into oblivion and not even care about the consequences.

"Killer," Kidd finally spoke again, looking towards the masked blonde. "Go find Gabriella, the kid and those two bitches," and he jerked his thumb towards the beach where the empty washing basin sat.

Killer stared at the red head then the beach and then back to Kidd. "Why am _I _getting them?"

"You're faster than me," Kidd admitted easily.

"Kidd, you can run fast too if you put your mind to it," Killer countered frankly.

Kidd glared at the masked blonde. "Do you want to find the morons or do you want to wait for _her_—" he jabbed a finger towards the thin summoner mage still lying on the ground. "—to wake up so you can question her? She'll really have a field day with your half naked self," and he motioned to Killer's shirtless chest.

Killer was silent. He looked down and back up. Then he held up a hand. "See ya," and he turned sharply on his heel to track the missing girls and his protégé.

Kidd just stood there and shook his head. Given the chance, Killer would high tail it out of any situation dealing with Madeline and this was no exception. Though, without Killer distracting the thin summoner mage, it would be easier to speak with her. Kidd needed all the details on enchanter's magic. This wasn't the first time Kidd and his crew came head to toe with enchanters' magic and he knew it wouldn't be the last. Though, he never thought it would be a situation like _this_. In the past, enchanter's magic interfered with magic, not change a person entirely. Kidd didn't understand, fuck, he didn't understand magic in general.

Hopefully, Madeline would clear it up. Kidd would admit the thin summoner mage was usefully with in that aspect. Or so he thought.

Madeline woke up only moments after Killer had left and she began cursing to the heavens, though more likely hell with what she was saying, about how some whore of a mythical creature was trying to steal her man. Kidd, and everyone around him, could only stare at her; no one was trying to get with Killer and, more importantly, Killer wasn't her man.

And he never would be. **Ever.**

As the thin summoner mage continue to curse in her devil's tongue, Kidd grew more impatient and frustrated by the minute. Oz tried to make him feel better by saying the men were on hunt for the old men with their purple gem. Upon hearing the words, Kidd snapped back to reality and was about to interrogate Madeline about the purple gem, but he couldn't.

He couldn't talk to a woman that had permanent marker drawings of monocle and mustache, plus, on her right cheek had _I have an Irish wiener_ written on it and the left had _its magically delicious_.

"I can't do this," Kidd bluntly said as he walked. "I just can't do this."

* * *

><p>Daniel shifted back and forth on his heels, nervously surveying the area. The girls had found a small grotto beside the bay, giving shelter from enemies passing by and also room to relax. Gabriella was consoling the two younger girls since they went through quite the experience, though June was having more trouble talking about it rather than Riley. But, Daniel couldn't really listen to what was being said because he was paranoid.<p>

"Gabriella…" he mumbled, walking over to where she was sitting in the shallow waters. "I really don't like this," he spoke his concern once again as he kneeled down next to her.

"Awe~" Gabriella cooed motherly and reached up to cradle his cheek. "It's okay, baby. I got my sword—" and she patted the weapon at her side. "—and I have you here," she smiled, tapping his nose with her finger. "I have faith in you, honey. I know you'll do your best to keep me safe."

That made Daniel feel much better about the situation. Sure, Captain Kidd would probably be extremely upset that they left, but Gabriella made sure they were in a safe place and she did have her sword, and also him. Like she said; he would do his best to protect her.

"I'll scout around the area!" Daniel declared with an air of determination. "I'll make sure it's super safe," and then he dashed off into woods, ready to protect.

Gabriella chuckled as her little boy rushed off with should bravery; he was going up so fast. Though, she hoped he wasn't growing up too fast, and that made her frown.

"Is Dannie your son?" Riley softly asked, bringing the summoner out of her inner thoughts.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. "_Mm-hmm,_" she hummed sweetly. "He's my first baby boy."

"And…is Killer…the _father?_" June sheepishly asked with a somewhat embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

Gabriella's eyes opened wide in shock. "_Oh, no, no, no!_" she quickly said as she waved her hands to cast off the thought. "I think you got the wrong idea. I call Dannie my son, but he's not my _actual_ son. And Killer is just his teacher, you know?"

"Oh," Riley nodded. "That makes more sense…" and she looked to her sister.

And June continued. "…Since it looked like you're with Eustass Kidd."

"Yeah~," Gabriella sweetly replied with a sugary smile as she held her blushing cheeks. "Kidd can be rough at times, but I love him no matter what~."

Riley blinked in shock. "That's actually…"

"…really sweet," June finished.

Gabriella merely smiled. "Even criminals have a charming side."

Riley nodded. "I guess…"

"…that's true," June agreed.

"Yup," Gabriella chirped happily. "But anyway, I think we should get back to our other conversation." The summoner mage then sudden grew serious as she lounged in the shallow water. "You said that purple gem did this…" she mumbled. "Purple…that sounds like enchanters' magic. I'm not an expert on other types of magic, but I'm sure it is, which means there is a way to reverse this all."

Riley sighed in relief. "That's good to hear…"

"Very good to hear…" June nodded with a weak smile.

"But how did you get into this mess?" Gabriella then dared to ask. "I was walking through the caverns, but you two don't seem like the type to wander."

Riley bit her lip and nervously cracked her knuckles. "You're right; we don't just wander off for the sake of wandering off."

June nodded her head and grimly frowned. "We were passengers on a merchant ship that docked here two weeks ago."

"We are the cooks, well, _were_ the cooks," Riley continued, wringing her hands together. "We like to get fresh herbs for our meals so we went out into the forest to look."

"And that's when…_he_ c—came…" June cringed violently, hugging her arms tightly and her twin swam over to comfort her.

Riley hugged her sister tightly and went on with the story since June no longer could as the tears collected in the corner of her eyes. "That man stole June to lure both of us into that cave. It took me hours to find her…and I still don't know what he did to her when we were separated but I think I know," she tightly said, which made June sniff as tears slipped down her cheeks. That only made Riley even more furious. "He has to pay for it! He has to!"

"Calm down, calm down," Gabriella tried to comfort the crying and fuming twins. "Don't worry; Kidd will make sure the man that did this pays. And Oz because he already has the idea that the purple gem is his. But, do you even know why the old fucker did this in the first place?"

Riley shook her head. "Once he turned us into mermaids all he did was watch us and sometimes take pictures while he mumbled like a mad man to himself. It was really creepy…"

"Hmm…"Gabriella hummed in thought while rubbing her chin. "I wonder what he's up to…"

* * *

><p>Killer walked along the beach, trying to find something would lead him to the mermaids, but since they swam there would no way he could track them. Though, he figured he'd hear them giggling sooner of later. Yet, all he got was an explosion.<p>

_Oh_, _fuck._

* * *

><p>They jumped from the trees like monkeys, using vines to swing down and snatch June first, making the already unstable girl hysterical. She cried and screamed for her sister, but Riley was powerless to do anything when she was captured too. The slavers were sneaky bastards, using the trees to stalk, steal and hide.<p>

"_This is Ole Poppy's stash!_" A man sneered with wicked gleam in his emerald eyes. "_We'll be rich with three mermaids!_"

"_Get'em all lads!_" Another slavers roared at the top of his lungs, making the scar along his mouth look longer.

Gabriella was the next one, even a blind person could see that, but a blind person could also see she wouldn't allow it. Three times being captured was three times too many; she shouldn't have been captured once. This was going to be the last time, even with her legs replaced with a fin, she would fight. She didn't need legs to use her magic and sword.

Before the grimy monkey man could even touch a hair on her head, Gabriella back handed him, leaving a burning red spot on his cheek as he fell back. Then Gabriella grabbed her Ohdan's sword and whipped it out, screaming: "_Caden's Demonic Sword: Ice!_"

And ice coated the ground in a thick blanket, stopping all men in their tracks and trapping them on their perches at the tree tops. She smirked, watching as the men tried to carefully remove their limbs from ice cages that rooted them in place.

"Who's this bitch?" The man with emerald eyes shouted as he fought against the ice around his ankles. "And why the hell does she use Exotic Scarlet's technique!"

"Forget the attack!" the man with the scar snapped. "The fish _looks_ like Exotic Scarlet."

"That's because _I am_ her," Gabriella shrieked, pounding her golden glowing fist to the ground so portals from hell opened wide, allowing her hell hounds to jump through. The giant hounds stood with arched backs and hair standing on up as they growled viciously, baring their blood stained teeth. The slavers quivered in their ice cakes boots at the hell hounds, which made Gabriella smirk wickedly. "Let the girls go _or else_," she coldly warned.

"_No~_" a feminine male voice sung out, making Gabriella snap her head towards the lean man, her eyes opening wide in shock. The lean slaver had her little boy in a head lock and gun barrel jabbed to the side of his head. "I think you should call off the dogs and free my men or else I'll blow your boy's brains _out~_"

Gabriella felt her heart drop when she saw Daniel's frightened face, but then she looked at twins, seeing that they looked just as scared. Gabriella couldn't save them all; she had to choose. "_Ceh,_" she scoffed, looking away as she sheathed her sword, making the ice shattered to pieces and then forced her hell hounds back to the portals they came through. Then she scowled darkly as she looked back to the slaver holding her baby hostage. "_Let them all go and take me instead!_"

The lean slaver chuckled airily, throwing his head back in amusement. "What an honorable decision, but it's rather _rash~_" he sung with a pleasant smirk. "Since I want all of _you~_"

And Gabriella's world went black.

Daniel's eyes went wide when he saw the large man knock Gabriella out so easily and he struggled to escape. With a swift kick to the lean slaver's knee, making the man sing out in pain, Daniel leaped away from his captor. Whipping out his dagger, he pointing it towards the lean slaver, ready to fight and the man looked ready to attack, but he was stopped.

"Forget the brat!" the large slaver holding Gabriella over his shoulder shouted. "We have a time line! We need to get back!"

The lean slaver grudgingly nodded his head and jumped high into the trees.

The large slaver was also going to jump, but Daniel wasn't going to let him get away just like that. He threw his dagger into the back of a man, making blood instantly stain the white shirt. The large slaver grunted in pain as he ripped the tiny blade from his shoulder blade, but then he whipped around, glaring at him. "Stupid, brat," he scoffed, throwing up the unconscious summoner mage to his men in the trees. Then he scowled down at the frozen boy, cracking his knuckles intimidating. "You should have been thankful I let you live, but you lost that privilege—"

Before the large slaver could take another step, a curved blade came through his chest. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, the white clearly showing as the blood vessel pulsed from the corners. Then the blade disappeared and the large man fell forward to the ground to reveal Killer standing behind him.

Killer rushed over to Daniel, going on his knees and put his hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay? Did that hurt you? Its fine, don't worry; everything will be fine."

But it saved was no use, Daniel couldn't stop crying.

* * *

><p>Kidd felt déjà vu. Here he stood, leaning against a pillar at the back of the auditorium, tapping his finger against his forearm. Another Auction house. Last time, he remembered commenting to Killer that if something interesting showed up, they should buy them up. Well, something interesting was in this one, and he had to play fair thanks to fucking world nobles, the World Government and the Marines. Though if things didn't turn out the way he wanted, he'd burn down another building to get what he wanted.<p>

He was sure as hell he was going to get her back.


	86. Chapter 83: Warzone

Girl-luvs-manga: Jealous isn't the exact word I would use...

Alpenwolf: I can promise this will be the last time she gets captured...for a lone while, so you don't have to worry about getting annoyed. Though, this one will be a bit different...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Chaos will come...much chaos... :D

Shiningheart of Thunderclan: Gabriella tried to find a place to relax without getting caught; she didn't expect the slavers to come from the trees. And she tried to make sure the others were safe, but it kinda backfired... She'll make up for it though. :D

the phantom of arts: Well, I have a beta for Bones, so I get the chapter to her at the beginning of the week so I only have to worry about His Heir. Plus, I have detailed outlines of the stories now. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, bit plot and OCs are mine,

* * *

><p>Chapter 83: Warzone<p>

Oz crawled through the narrow air ducks with Daniel traveling at his heels. This was one of the pluses about being an abnormally short height; he could get into small places, which allowed him to get information. Or get treasure, especially treasure. Oh, how he loved treasure.

Though, treasure aside, his job, as well as the boy's, was to locate Gabriella and, as Kidd called them, the other bitches, and steal the keys from the head auctioneer, Jazzy Hat. A lame name just like the other auctioneer stationed at Shabondy, Disco was his name. A fact as it may be, that was beside the point. They had a mission to save the three mermaids before they could make it to the stage or else they would have to go into sticky plan B. There was a lot of work ahead of them, that was for sure, but Daniel didn't make it easy with all his sniffling.

"Keep it down, boy!" Oz snapped quietly over his shoulder. "They'll hear us if you don't stop!"

Daniel let out a muffled cry as he bit down harshly on his lower lip. "S—sorry—" He murmured lightly. "I just feel…really bad…"

Oz scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't be; we can fix this," he firmly said as he continued on, crawling until they reached the end of a tunnel. The silted metal of the grate allowed him and the boy to see the barred cells and cages of those captured by slavers over the weeks, the men, women and children cowering in corners with thick slave collars around their necks.

Though, the only ones they paid attention to were Gabriella and the twins.

The summoner mage was violently feisty; fighting back to the best of her ability. "_You dick-headed-ass-bastards,_" she shrieked bloody murder, slapping the auction house employee that tried to place a slave collar around June's neck. "_If you dare touch them I'll rip your hearts out and feed them to Satan himself!_"

Upon the threat, they warily stepped back, even though she shouldn't have been a problem since she already had a slaver collar around her neck. But, she was protecting the twins to the bitter end until the douche-bag known as Jazzy Hat came through his office doors, looking eerily calm.

Gabriella spurred devilish curses that no one but hellions could understand as she scowled darkly towards the man in a more hideous getup than his Boss. It was only true, and Gabriella made a point of that, switching back to a language everyone could understand, which only made the auctioneer frown deeply with knitted thick brows as he back handed her as if she were a common whore.

Daniel gasped loudly, and Oz instantly slapped a hand over his mouth to silence the boy. Luckily they weren't caught as the auctioneer and his employees latched slaver collars to the frightened twins when the summoner mage was distracted by the pain. Then the employees dragged them out to 'the bowl' while other employees rounded up the other people in the cells and cages.

When the coast was clear, Oz then removed his hand from the boy's mouth, feeling salty water staining his skin.

"D—Did I do this…" he stuttered softly, his tiny form shaking as tears slipped down his cheeks.

Oz sighed a patted the boy on the back. "Nah, boy, it has nothing to do with you. Just misfortune and bad luck, and the only ones getting the sharp end of the sword are the sap who sells her and the bastard who buys her."

* * *

><p>Kidd growled lowly under his breath when he glanced narrowly to the side, watching as the infamous pompous World Nobles marched into the auction as if they owned the place. Though, in a way they did. These people could get away with anything, especially if one was a serial killer murdering and torturing all walks of life and the whole world knew about it. It was a cruel twist to the world that made pure evil villains of the world like gentlemen. It was déjà vu yet again since this wasn't the first time he said something like that.<p>

"Damn," he grumbled, scowling murderously at the three nobles strolling down the stairs, striking fear in the eyes of others around them.

The two men trailing behind the woman like ducklings; a definite Oedipus Complex right there. A mother and her sons ready to separate families because they think God gave them the fucking damn right to do it. It was sick, even to Kidd's standards because the Marines did shit about. They didn't even call it _slavery_; it was _employment_. Sick, just_ sick._

"_Mummy,_" the thin and tall son whined childishly to his mother, making the harsh looking woman glance over her shoulder. "I want a new maid! A pretty one, too!"

"_Hmph,_" the woman scoffed arrogantly. "You may buy as you will, my son, but you have an limit to your spending."

"_But Mummy!_" the tall son groaned obnoxiously, his narrow face stretching down to the extreme with his jaw. "One billion beli isn't enough to buy multiple maids! _One isn't enough!_ I need more to test them to see which is the best."

The noble's mother huffed, rolling her eyes. "Don't carelessly throw money a bout; it's waste."

The tall noble continued to whine like a four year old having a tantrum for not getting a toy in the window of a shop he saw for only a mere second. But then the tall noble glanced over to his short and chubby brother. "Hey, Oracle; give me a few hundred beli! I'll let you borrow of my new maids~" he suggested with wiggling eyebrows.

Oracle hugged the wads of beli in his to his large torso and turned away from his greedy brother trying to reach it. "No, Prophet," Oracle grunted rudely. "I need all this money for what _**I**_ want."

"_Uh-huh,_" Prophet rolled his narrow eyes with hands on his hips. "And what would _that_ be?"

A wide and deviously wicked smirk crossed the chubby man's lips as he chuckled mischievous. "Why, only a _mermaid_ will please me…"

And that was the last thing Kidd heard before the World Nobles walked out of earshot and made their way to the VIP booth in the front of the auditorium. His eyes opened wide as he ground his teeth together and his mechanical fingers dug into his bare skin and his hand gripped a large piece of metal on his iron arm. "_Damn,_" he hissed, biting his lower lip in frustration. "Damn, damn, damn! This is gonna be a war. _Fuckin' damn..._"

Heat looked to Killer, a wary look in his eyes, but Killer could only shrug. With a sigh, Heat turned back to his captain. "Unwise, Captain," Heat murmured in his ear. "That's the Holloway Family."

"I don't give a shit," Kidd barked bitterly. "All I know is that blood will spill."

"Kidd," Killer then cut in. "You risk suicide by killing one of them."

Bedros then perked up, his eyes opening a fraction wider. "Are these alien-looking fools really_ that_ bad?"

"Yes," Killer quickly answered before speaking to Kidd once more. "You know first hand what happens and I doubt the Marines would allow something like that to happen again, you know. Not only do you have your crew to worry about, also Block's."

Kidd snapped his head towards his first mate and growled viciously. "Are you saying I should forget about her and move on just for the safety of men that know how to handle themselves? I picked the best of the best for my Fleet, except that ass Token. Don't insult them by calling them weak, except Token, and don't you fucking suggest I leave Gabriella behind!"

Killer held up his hands in defense and took a small step back. "I wasn't suggesting any of that. I was only saying to stick to the plan. Oz and Dan are trying to get the girls before they make it to stage—"

"_**Welcome folks to the Auction House! We will be starting in only five minutes so get your beli bills together for the show!**_"

Killer felt a bead of sweat on his cheek when he saw the murderous scowl on Kidd's face. "Okay, that plan didn't work, so we go to plan B. Oz and Dan look for a spare key while we give them time raising the price."

"Do you think that they'll sell each girl separately or together?" Bedros then asked.

"Separately," Wire replied. "They'd get more money if they did that."

"Doesn't matter," Kidd scoffed. "We're only worrying about Gabriella."

"_Totally_ smart idea," Killer sarcastically said. "Since, you know, Gabriella risked _her freedom_ to save June and Riley's."

Kidd merely growled.

Killer ignored him and continued on with the plan. "So, when the auction is over, there are a few minutes before the Nobles get the girls, since we know they are buying them, and Dan and Oz will get the collars off and Gabriella then get port the hell out of there. By the time we get back to the ships, the old man should be found. Everyone is looking for 'im and all."

"Sounds fool proof," Kidd scoffed, but then he stiffened when the true auction became.

Never before had he felt like this, feeling his heart pounding against his chest when he knew the worst was placed before him on a sliver platter. Biting his lip until it bled, he waited for the last to appear, the mermaids, his girlfriend. God, he didn't want to see her on that stage and he hoped with all his night that Daniel and Oz got them out in time and just couldn't contact them. But no, that's not what happened.

"_**Here it is folks, the last bundle of the evening!**_"

And the fishbowl holding his lover came, rolling into the limelight on stage so all the men could awe in her beauty. Kidd, though, felt different. He paid not attention to the words the auctioneer said to rial up the the crowd. He could on stare at her in the water hugging her chest with one arm as her free hand held a blooming blue and purple bruised cheek.

Before the auctioneer could even utter the starting price after the failure of a description of his girlfriend, the pompous noble known as Prophet shot up from his seat, startling his family as he held a fist full of beli and roared: "One billion beli!" with a red blush and tiny stream of blood coming from his nose.

Rage flood in his veins and all he saw was red. Kidd forgot the plan instantly as if it were a speck of dust in his mind. When he heard that price of the one he loved, nothing mattered. Only death. Gabriella,_ his_ summoner mage, was _priceless_ to him. He growled deeply as he stepped forward, ready to behead any that got in his way.

But then he suddenly stopped. And it wasn't because of Killer's hand latching to his arms.

It was her. That look in her eyes; he'd never seen it before. It was evil, pure evil. Such rage flowing from her golden eyes made him shutter, not out of fear, but thrill. It was new, _exciting._ But then his eyes opened wide and skin when sheet white when he saw the gold of her hands glowing brightly in the water.

"No…" he mumbled; she wasn't supposed to attack, she couldn't attack. He could, but her…_the collar_.

Her hand rose high above her head, forcing a portal to open behind her.

"**NO!**" Kidd roared, ripping his grip from the firm hand trying to keep him in place. They would kill her for sure is she attacked or stepped out of line, especially when two other mermaids waited in the wings.

The crowds were in fright when they saw the portal and large clawed, red hands covered in scars and veins snake from the colorful mix of magic. He saw the Auction House's guards line up, ready to shoot the cause, but then the auctioneer pulled out the button to end the threat once and for all. Kidd skidded to a stop within the panic erupting all around him and held out a hand so the little metal device would be in his hands.

But it was too late.

The button was pressed.

Though, instead of the deadly blast bursting within the glass of the giant fishbowl, it was redirected towards the one that pushed the button.

The smoke only added to the confusion that Kidd had, but then he heard that deep rumbling of a demonic voice.

"_Stupid twerp. You know you are never to summon me unless it has to do with **him.**_"

Kidd's eyes opened wide at the sight of a hideous devil, a devil he had never seen before.

And from behind, through all the screaming of men and women calling for the Marines, he could only make out the loud shout of Bedros shouting in pure terror:

"_**FUCK! IT'S THE HELLION!**_"


	87. Chapter 84: Devil Known as Satan

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I bet you did, but the review was stolen by the evil Copy Cat! GASP, we must find him quick! Quickly, Lady of ThunderClan, Knight Sane shall guide you to victory! (I'm a little tired, if that explains anything.)

Girl-luvs-manga: They will suffer.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Oh, you have no idea. Poor Bedros...

zdenkac09: Ah, thank you. :)

Alpenwolf: True, true... You are one of my most loyal readers. :) And you will see just WHO she summoned.

So, this is a longer chapter because I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. I have been working on it ALL DAY, so APPRECIATE IT. EVEN IF THERE'S TONS OF MISTAKES. And, I'm really tired and want a hug. :( And food, like a sam-ich. :'(

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 84: Devil Known as Satan.<p>

Gabriella pounded on the thick glass of the giant fish bowl trapping her with a fist, angrily trying to get Hellion to help her. The monstrous devil though, just stood there with amused glint in yellow serpent eyes. Then, Hellion abruptly sat on the floor, grinning smugishly at her. The cracking of bones echoed loudly in the empty space of the auditorium along with the clinging of metal to the floor as weapons still lodged in crimson scarred skin hit the heavy wood board.

"_Stupid little twerp,_" Hellion mused with a toothy grin to showcase rows of shark fangs in the spotlight beating down on them still. "_You got yourself into a nasty place,_" and to prove the point, the monstrous devil picked up the giant fishbowl with ease and they proceed to shake it, laughing wickedly as the summoner mage bashed against the thick glass sphere surrounding her repeatedly.

When the look of pain crossed Gabriella's face, Kidd snapped back to reality. He scowled darkly and growled viciously at the sight. No one, may it be human or mythical creature, _dared_ hurt his summoner mage. Though, before he could even take a small step forward, he was being dragged back two giant ones.

"_Nonononononononononono—_**NO, Kidd!**" Bedros yelped all in one breathe. "You do** not** want to mess with the Hellion! It's bad news, man. Such fucking bad news," the stone devil then whimpered like a puppy and hid behind Kidd's muscle form, peeking around to get a small glimpse of Hellion still shaking the glass bowl with Gabriella in the middle.

Kidd glanced warily between the stone devil and monstrous one mercilessly abusing his girlfriend with a fishbowl of all things in the world. He was the type to ignore most warnings when something important was at stake, but yet he hesitated to confront the Hellion. Not because this was a 'supposed' ally of his summoner mage or because he was afraid—which is was most certainly not—but rather because he had no idea what he was up against. So, he looked back to Bedros, questioning: "Why?"

"Because that—" and Bedros pointed a finger towards Hellion. "Is an Ancient Devil!"

Kidd's brow rose. "That's it? Really? You're scared because of _that?_"

"Not _only_ that," Bedros snapped with a high pitched yelp as he continued to jab his finger towards the other devil repeatedly. "The Hellion, _that_ devil _right_ there is** bad.** You remember Copy Cat, right?" Bedros questioned quickly, almost out of breath from hyperventilating, too much.

Kidd nodded slowly reply.

"Well," Bedros took a deep breath in. "Hellion is one tiny step under him. **That's** how bad the situation is, Kidd. Not even the famous Demon Slayer McCrane could kill him. Hell, McCrane **died** against Hellion. Fuck, even his battleaxe is still wedge in that massive shoulder," and the stone devil stuttered at the sight of the century old blade that had become one with the monstrous devil's shoulder. "Seriously, Kidd; I'm warning **not** to get close."

Kidd's brows furrowed with slight rage. "But—"

"Gabriella's fine," Bedros cut off sharply. "Hellion won't kill her because they are both after a common goal: Copy Cat. There was a rumor she made a pact with him since Hellion hates Copy Cat for taking the spot of the biggest baddie, and I'm guessing now it sure as fuck is true. You don't want to mess with Hellion when he's angry, Kidd. You just don't want to."

Kidd's fingers twitched anxious on what to do next. It was certain he wasn't going to fight the damn thing, but he couldn't let Gabriella get tossed around like that anymore. But he felt as if he should stay fast and listen to the stone devil's warning, and he was glad he did.

All the other nobles may have fled the scene, but not the World Nobles. They had yet to be knocked down from their high horses, and Hellion was sure as fuck going to make them plummet through the ground with a one way trip to hell.

They stupidly showed no fear just because they knew they had the entire world at their backs, but Kidd had the unsurprising feeling that Hellion really didn't give a flying fuck for that fact. Oracle, the fucking idiot that tried to purchase Gabriella, shot up from his seat, scowling darkly with his chuddy features. And, completely unaware of the situation, shouted: "That mermaid is _mine!_ Unhand her now! I do_ not_ want my merchandise to be ruined!"

Behind Kidd, Bedros gasped and ducked further behind the red head's form. "He's dead."

Hellion blinked at the sudden out burst and stopped what he was doing. Then he growled, slowly turning to face the World Noble, his eyes narrowing into two tight slits. "_And what gives you the fucking right to tell me what to do, mortal?_" The devil coldly asked in a tone that sent chills down anyone's spine.

Even the World Noble cringed at the voice, but he did not falter from his harsh stance and then, like the moronic monarch he was, he pulled out a pure gold pistol from its holster at his hip. "I'm a _Celestial Dragon_, a _**World Noble!**_ I'm allowed to do as I please because God's grace is with me!" Oracle screamed, cocking the gold pistol with finger hovering over the trigger. "So do as I say and unhand her before I shoot you! There are silver bullets in here, which will kill a demon like you instantly!"

Hellion stared blankly at the World Noble blatantly threatening him at gun point. Then he burst out into laughter, dropping Gabriella's fishbowl so it caused the wood stage to splinter. The glass didn't so much as crack, but the summoner mage was visible shaking at the ringing pain that travel through the water as she held her ears with closed eyes and twitchy brows. Kidd lost sight of everything around him once more, and he was ready to dash to her aid, but then, not only Bedros's hand, but Killer's as well, held him back.

"Not yet," Killer whispered.

"More like never," Bedros corrected, but then he yelped in pain when Heat whacked him upside the head.

"Ignore him," Killer continued. "We'll get her, don't worry. But let's see how this plays out."

Kidd slowly nodded; as long as they saved Gabriella, he would do anything.

Hellion's amused laughs filled the auditorium, pouncing off the walls so the noise was like daggers that pierced the skin to chills. Hellion held his muscular stomach as he threw back his head. "_What a waste of precious metal!_" Hellion roared at the humorous words, his body quivering to the point where his wings unfolded and shook along wildly with his form. "_Especially in the hands of an idiot like you!_"

Oracle's thick brow twitched uncontrollably with rage at the insult, and he looked to his mother and brother, both of the other World Nobles looking equally outraged and they hurried to join Oracle's side. "_**SHUT UP!**_" He then shouted as his family pulled out their own gold pistols, and together, shot silver bullets at Hellion.

The silver metal glare dangerously as it zoomed through the air, but it was for naught. The bullets merely ricocheted, tapping against harsh red scaly skin before leaping away at top speed to other places around the room.

"_Heh,_" Hellion chuckled, using a thick black claw to swipe a nonexistence tear from under his eye. "_That didn't even tickle, you damn fucks. And also,_" Hellion then glanced over to the World Nobles again. "_Silver bullets are for werewolves,_" then he held his long arms out widely. "_Do I look like a werewolf to you?_"

The World Nobles stood there, shell shocked.

Hellion grinned wickedly, dark shadows forming along his face as the single bit of light above his head flicker out and the Auction House went dark. "_You had you're turn to speak,_" the devil whispered coldly. "_Now it's mine…Celestial Dragons,_" then gold orbs of light filled the room and the devil leaned in close to inspect the World Noble. "_The souls they cry your name. The ones who bought and branded us, they weep. The ones who whipped and killed us, they sob. The ones who stole our lives, they roar. The ones who we want to kill, they demand!_"

Hellion chuckled, taking in the pale expressions of the World Nobles; they knew exactly who he was talking about.

"_Now,_" Hellion continued, leaving his sitting position to crouch to face the World Nobles directly, his wings spread out wide and a gold glow coming to his sharp claws grasping the edge of the stage. "_I think I shall allow these souls their revenge._"

And the portals opened.

The crimson carpet at the foot of the stage ripped open to reveal an ominous green light. Hands sprouted from the misty vortexes as a collection of whispers came forth and the souls of former slaves still in their chains. Even in death they were still bound to unwanted masters. They shrieked and sobbed, their words unintelligible, but there was one word recognizable for sure: kill.

The pale face World Nobles then screamed in terror, finally seeing that neither the Marines nor the World Government could save them now. They screamed with fright high in their tones and turned to escape, but it was pointless. Skeletal hands bit at their ankles, locking tightly so other souls could climb and cling to the fabric of their white puffy suits. The World Nobles were taken to the ground, crumbling in heaps so more lost souls piled on top, pulling them into the pits of Hades.

The second son, Prophet, though was much faster than his mother and brother and narrowly escaped being grabbed. He stood there, frozen, hurried looking between his family crying out for his help and the souls coming to drag him away, too. In fear, he tossed aside his family to high tail it up the steps only to have the souls scurry to him and latch onto his legs. He tripped to the ground hard, landing at Kidd's feet.

The wide eyed man looked up at Kidd, his hand shakily reaching out to him. "…H—help…"

Kidd stared emotionlessly the man quivering before him then he lifted his foot and kicked him in the jaw, so he tumbled back down the stairs. And then he said: "Go to hell," and that the noble did.

The souls jumped the man, grasping to him tightly and then dragged him quickly into the vortex where his mother and brother had disappeared. He screamed the entire way until the room went black.

Then it was silent.

The eerie silence continued, only the chattering of Bedros's teeth could be heard. Then suddenly the spotlight flickered back on, drowning the Hellion in light once more.

Hellion stared at the blankly, again sitting leisurely on the stage, but he then moved as he jerked a claw over his shoulder. "_This mess is yours, right?_"

Kidd nodded, glancing towards the giant fishbowl. "…Yeah."

"_Well,_" Hellion scoffed. "_Come clean it up. I won't kill you. I don't kill mortals that respect my personal space._"

"…" Kidd was silent and warily stepped forward.

"_Hurry up, mortal!_" Hellion grunted impatiently. "_I know the ones in charge of your world don't like it when those people are hurt much less killed. Or rather tortured for all entirety, heh, heh._"

And as if on cue, the Marines shouts came bellowing from outside. That was quick, but of course it had to be when a World Noble was in the mix. And that made Kidd snap to a faster pace and he began ordering those in his group. "Get the other bitches in the back. Oz and Dan must have gotten the keys by now. I'll focus on getting Gabriella out."

All of them nodded, but Bedros was hesitant to move at all and continued to cling to Kidd's fur coat desperately for protection. Kidd ignored the stone devil and just rushed to the stage, dragging Bedros along, but then the weight was gone. Looking behind him, Kidd saw Bedros dangling in the air by Hellions claws pinching the back of his vest.

"_What a cute little thing,_" Hellion purred mischievously.

Bedros looked ready to shit himself and he began blabbering nonsense. "W—what! Nope, no, no. I'm not cute; I'm rather ugly, very ugly."

"_Ha!_" Hellion snorted, amused. "_Maybe that's what you see, but me, I see something different,_" and the devil dropped Bedros to the ground, but didn't let him go far as Hellion leaned in close, invading the stone devil's personal bubble. "_Stay open for mating season._"

Bedros's cheeks fuming bright red. "That's impossible! Nothing can happen between us!"

"_As long as there's a bitch, anything can happen,_" Hellion mused.

Bedros was silent, looking away. Then he mumbled. "Can I run away now?"

"_Heh,_" Hellion chuckled. "_I like to see them squirm._"

And the stone devil took that as his cue to scamper off with his tail between his knees.

Kidd stared slightly disturbed at the scene was shook it off; he had more important things to worry about than how two male devils would mate. Walking up to the giant fishbowl, placed his hands to the glass and Gabriella swam to him the short distance to place hers over his. Her mouth moved, bubbles coming out quickly to float to the surface. She was screaming something to him, but the glass was too thick for him to even hear the faintest of sounds.

"Shit," Kidd grumbled, knowing he would have to figure out a way to get her out on his own because the Hellion showed no signs of helping as he sat there tapping his claws against the floor with an eager grin towards the entrance where the Marines continued to scream violently from the other side.

There was a giant cork wedged into the opening of the fishbowl, but there was a tiny piece of metal that looked to have a chain former attached to it before it was removed. He could use that, but when he stepped back and tried use Repel on it, the fishbowl started to go with it, making Gabriella very upset about the sudden jolt as her back rammed violently into the glass.

"Sorry, sorry," Kidd said while making hands signs to show her he was being apologetic when he saw her scowl with pain and anger in her eyes.

"_Better hurry,_" Hellion mused as the sound of cannon fire came in loudly from the background.

Kidd ignored the devil and focused on his task at hand, realizing his time was running short. He had no idea if the Hellion was going to help him or not and just sit there for kicks and giggles, so he had to hurry. With limited options, he knew what he had to do and he also knew his summoner mage wasn't going to like it. He sent her a weak smile, which made her eyes open wide when his hand was held high above his head, and using his devil fruit powers, he brought down a catwalk in the ceiling to make the glass crack majorly. He then repelled the dented catwalk and used his mechanical arm to punch away the remaining glass and finally pull Gabriella from the fishbowl.

She coughed in his arms, clutching her forehead where a small cut had formed. "_By Mortalitas's Name_—Kidd! What were you thinking!" She snapped, glaring at him.

"We're even for you stupidly running off then," Kidd countered, just as anger; he hadn't forgotten about that.

Her features lightened instantly. "Kidd…I'm sorry for that. I didn't think it would happen and I tried to fight back. I really did—"

"We can talk about it later," Kidd cut her off. "Only thing that matters it that your safe," and he gently kissed her cheek.

"_Oh this moment is making me tear up,_" Hellion mockingly sniffled and rolled his eyes. "_But we have bigger problems now,_" and he looked to the entrance, watching the Marines pour in by the hundreds.

The fine, justice filled men stood in lines with rifles cocked and read to fire fro their commanding Vice Admiral who had joined the party. "Hand over Holloway Family, Eustass Kidd. And your death at Impel will less a small fraction."

"_What an airhead,_" Hellion scoffed, rolling his eyes. "_Thinking he's all high and mighty due to a mere title._"

The Vice Admiral scowled fiercely at the devil. "I earned my title demon!" He barked. "We know you are just some underling of Scarlet!"

A vein pulsed violently from Hellion's brow. "_Underling..._" he coldly repeated. "_I'm no **underling!**_" he spat bitterly, rage visibly pouring from his form. "_I take commands from no one! I earned my title fairly among the high devils of my supreme class unlike you mere human who had to eat a damn fruit or bribe his way up!_"

Then Hellion stood a full height, towering over the Marines that tried to stalk closer.

"_**I am the Devil known as Satan! I will kill you all for defying me in such a way!**_"

Kidd stood there, somewhat eager to watch, but Gabriella then suddenly tugged on the collar of his coat, a deep frown on her lips.

"I don't want to be here when Hellion starts, Kidd," she whispered quietly. "I saw what happened once and I never I want to see it again."

Kidd may have wanted to stay, but he listened to her in the end. Plus, he had to get his crew and Fleet members off this island soon. Hell was coming, and that was for certain.

* * *

><p>The screams of the Marines, nobles and innocents could still be heard of the roar of the flames in the background as Kidd shouted to his men from the deck of his faithful ship. "<em>Get your asses in gear! Get the ships ready to sail!<em>" He roared over the chaos so his men would pick up speed cleaning up camps and lugging supplies up gangplanks. When he saw that they were all going a speed he wanted, he glanced to the fire once more; it was spreading, and face. He growled; Hellion wasn't kidding, was here. Then he quickly looked to Chamberlain. "_Any sign of the fucker yet!_"

"_Block is still looking for him!_" The navigator called back of the shouting and mild panic among the crews. "_We still have three groups still looking for him!_"

"Shit," Kidd hissed to himself biting his lower lip; this wasn't good. Block needed to hurry and find that maniac or at least hurry back to the ship.

The commander of his Fleet may have been harder than a diamond with not a scar on his body after four years on the Grand Line, but Kidd was positive Hellion would do damage, and he didn't want that. But, Block was none to continue at a task until complete, but if the man couldn't be found, then they had to go to plan B.

Kidd then looked towards Madeline, the thin summoner mage examining Gabriella in her mermaid form along with the twins as they sat worriedly in the washing basin again. "Can you figure out what's wrong with them?" He questioned her harshly, his tone almost barking at her.

"_Not with all this chaos around me!_" Madeline snapped, irritated.

"Double shit," Kidd turned away and cursed, running his fingers through his hair. It felt as if his world was crumbling and he needed to get off his island. Then he rushed over to the railing of his ship and leaned over, ordering: "Someone contact the groups! We don't have time! We gotta go, NOW! Everyone else get to the ships! Hurry!"

The crewmen follow their leader's commands and they hurried to their respected ships to get everything settled on the galleons, unfurl sails and pull up anchor. And in only minutes after being contacted, the remaining groups returned to the ship, Block leading the way. The lumbering pirate commander looked ready to speak, which was a rare thing if he wasn't drunk, but a sudden burst of purple lightening cut him short of words and also halted him in his tracks.

"Oh no!" June shrieked.

"It's Ole Poppy!" Riley screamed.

"_You will not take what it mine!_" The old fucker known as Ole Poppy roared from his perch high above them on a cliff.

"_Damn geezer,_" Kidd flicked him off, too pissed off at the guy who caused this mess to realize what he was doing. "_Come down here and try to take it back!_"

"**Kidd!**" Gabriella screeched from behind.

"_You don't know who you messin' with, boy!_" Ole Poppy roared, waving his specter high above his head.

"_Neither do you!_" Kidd barked back.

"_You all ruined everything!_" Ole Poppy screamed to the heavens. "_I was going to be rich! **RICH!** But **NO**, you all came and ruined it **ALL! NOW YOU WIL—!**_"

The old man was stopped abruptly, blood spluttering from his lips as he gasped with wide eyes. He staggered for a moment before tumbling from the cliff to the ground face first.

Ole Poppy's back showcased the dagger Killer had given to Daniel and the boy stood on the cliff's edge over the bleeding corpse.

* * *

><p>Even miles away, Kidd could still see the vivid glow of orange from fire. They had been sailing for hours to get as far away from the Auction House and the triangle of Marine bases around it, all to escape Hellion, a somewhat ally. Night had fallen by the time they stumbled upon a large cloud, which turned out to be a legendary 'sky island' according to Jeremy. The young scholar was like a kid on Christmas morning when he saw it and he went through at least two hundred different theories of why a sky island would be hovering so close to the ocean, and he and Benjamin the bear exchanged many thoughts about, mostly involving the sight of black clouds among the white ones.<p>

Kidd, personally cared little for it; all he was worried about was Madeline fixing Gabriella with the purple enchanter's gem. It took the thin summoner mage three hours; two hours longer than it should have, she had said, only because Kidd was hounding her to hurry up. He just wanted everything to be back to normal, that's all, and when he saw two nicely shaped legs on his girlfriend rather than one scaly fin, he sighed in relief.

But, there for another problem, of course.

When the former mermaids turned back to humans they got _only_ their legs back. Yeah, that caused a lot of nosebleeds.

And a lot of the men were now unconscious because Kidd, sorta, beat the crap out of them. A lot.

That was behind him now. Gabriella and the twins were now fully dressed; the twins sleeping in the infirmary where they were safe under the watch of Doc and Gabriella had gone off on a walk with Madeline. Sure, he shouldn't have let her wander off after everything that happened, but before she left, Kidd laid down ground rules. But most importantly, finally gave her a baby den-den mushi and showed her how to use an S.O.S. call so she didn't have to dial him if she was in trouble. He felt better know she had that, but not by a lot. Though, Kidd would worry about it later and decided just to watch the fiery scene he escaped.

"What happened back there, Boss?" Oz's voice came from behind, and Kidd looked over to see Block walk over with his first mate sitting comfortably on his shoulder.

"I don't know," Kidd admitted, looking back to the glowing horizon. "But it must be hell right now. Hellion didn't just destroy the one island."

"He destroyed _everything_ around it," Oz grimly finished, shaking his head. "I didn't think Gabriella had that kind of power to summon something like _that._"

"Neither did I," Kidd admitted again.

"_Hmm…_" Oz hummed thoughtfully. "It killed World Nobles, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Kidd nodded.

"And, since we are the only survivors, the World Government and Marines will hound us ten times more than they usually do, especially the lesser crews under the Fleet."

Kidd looked over at the two, giving them a small grin. "Getting too risky for you boys?"

"_Hah!_" Oz snorted and smirked widely with an amused look in his eyes. "This is the most fun we've had since we came to the Grand Line, isn't that right, Captain?" Oz glanced down at Block, kicking his heel to his captain chest.

Block grunted and smiled, nodding his head.

"_Heh,_" Kidd grunted with a growing grin. "Good to hear."

* * *

><p>"I hate her, <em>ooh<em>, I _really_ hate her!" Madeline seethed murderously. "How _dare_ she steal my baby Killer!"

Gabriella felt a trickle of sweat slip down her cheek. "Maddie…Riley is, like, sixteen. Killer is in his twenties. Plus, Killer doesn't like you. Nor will he ever."

Madeline crossed her arms over her chest. "He just doesn't know he loves me yet," she huffed in denial.

"Maddie, you know I love you, and as your best friend, I think it's time to get over Killer," Gabriella calmly said. "I think Jacques like you…a lot."

"Gabs," Madeline rolled her eyes. "Me and Jacques are just good friends. He listens to me when I can't talk to you and he doesn't laugh at me like Bedros does! But seriously, Gabs, what does that bitch have that I don't! Is it boobs?" Madeline questioned, putting her hands to her flat chest. "And I have even gotten bigger. I thought he would notice by now..."

Gabriella stared at her best friend.

"I did!" Madeline shouted. "I'm an A now instead of an AA!"

"Really?" Gabriella's brow rose in curiosity, placing a hand to her best friend's chest and squeezed experimentally. "Hmm, still feels small to me."

Madeline scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Well not everyone has double Ds like you, Gabs," and she pushed her away.

"Just telling the truth," Gabriella chirped, bringing Madeline into a tight hug. "It's what sisters do!"

"Well sisters should also help sisters get the guys she likes," Madeline muttered under her breath.

"Maybe one day," Gabriella laughed loudly.

Madeline grumbled under her breath, but then something caught her attention which alerted Gabriella a well. The clouds, white and seemingly full of life turned a hideous shade of black as if everything was sucked out of them. Gabriella became wary of the situation arising and her hand when to the hilt of her blade, ready to strike. But then Madeline grabbed her arm, her eyes opened wide with terror.

"Something's not right…" she whispered quietly.

And how right she was.

From the dying, deflated clouds, a ghostly woman stalked forward. "_My love, my love,_" she whispered in a demonic hush, her head hanging low to the ground. "_Where thou, my love?_" Then with a sickening crack, the woman's head snapped towards the mages quickly, her eyes glowing an ominous red. "_Do thee know of my love?_" she questioned coldly as she leaped gently from the ground, her feet hovering above the ashy clouds.

"Gabriella…" Madeline quivered, moving even closer.

The summoner mage didn't move at all. She felt weak; the only thing frantically moving was her pounding heart. This magic was nothing like she ever felt before. It was powerful, deadly and evil. Just like the clouds in the malevolent woman's wake, Gabriella felt weak as if the life was being sucked right out.

Then suddenly the ring on her finger began to glow a dark, blinding black.

The woman halted in her tracks and quietly whispered. "_My love, here not,_" and she vanished from sight.

* * *

><p>Because I love you all, I promise to reread this and edit it tomorrow since I know it's not good enough. I promise. :)<p> 


	88. Chapter 85: A Killer Tale

Girl-luvs-manga: Oh they make quite the pair. ;p

Sarah: Your English is fine, so don't worry. :) I'm glad that you have enjoyed my story so much and I hope I don't disappoint you. :)

Guest: No, I wouldn't call it god-like-work... Haven't you seen all my grammar errors? Oh, my kingdom for a beta; forget that damn horse. Oh, and you may have cookies and hugs.

Alpenwolf: Now, Hellion isn't HIM, just known as him due to sadism and stuff.

robin3zoro: Alsome?

Mugiwara Otome: I think the life and death situation was a little different, so beggars can't be choosers. :p

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: It was Ole Poppy since Kidd referred to him as "fucker". If Kidd called Dannie that... Oh, his bed would be very cold for a very long time.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Hellion and Bedros mating? Oh honey, don't worry. There is a method to my madness; you just gotta trust me. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 85: A Killer Tale<p>

Killer kneeled down at the edge of his bed, taking the tiny cotton ball between his fingers and pressed it to the lip of the rubbing alcohol bottle. Then he tipped it slightly so he felt the cotton become damp and then removed it. The potent smell invaded his nostrils, but it was easily ignored since the masked blonde's attention was focused on Daniel. The boy was sitting on his bed, legs dangling over the edge as he held the hems of his pants so his scrapped knees were showing. During the confusion and chaos on the last island, Daniel had ignored his injuries for the sake of the summoner mage, and now he risked getting an infection. Doc would have scolded the boy, since Daniel was learning from him, so he had gone to Killer to get treatment.

From the looks of it, Daniel didn't have a festering infection in the wounds, even after Killer washed all the blood away with a cloth drenched in lukewarm water. It looked to be in the stages of healing, but one could never be too sure. So gently, he placed the cotton ball over the wound and gingerly began to dap it.

Daniel hissed at the stinging, but he bit his lip to muffle it the best he could.

"It'll be fine," Killer said to comfort the boy, but only slightly; as his teacher, Killer could see the boy was getting stronger each day. But now, he was going through something, the masked blonde could tell.

There was a deep frown of thought on the boy's lips as he watched Killer treat his wounds, and then he finally said it. "Does it make me a bad person 'cause I killed someone?"

Killer paused in his current task and looked up at his protégé. "No," he answered and resumed with his work. "Plus, Ole Poppy deserved to die considering what he did to Gabriella and the others; he also threatened the crew."

"But…" Daniel continued, shifting in his seat. "What if a person was innocent and I killed them."

"If they were innocent you wouldn't have killed them," Killer wisely said. "If a person doesn't give you a reason to kill them, then leave them be," the masked blonde advised, which he found was backwards since he, himself, had killed many people in cold blood or just for the fun of it. But, this was for he child's sake.

Daniel was thrown into the pirate world at a young age, even younger than Killer. The masked blonde hadn't taken his first kill until he was thirteen of age. Daniel wasn't even ten yet and taking another's life is also the end of a carefree childhood. So, in a sense, Killer was telling this to the boy so he wouldn't feel the pressure of being a Kidd Pirate. Not yet, anyway.

"Oh, okay," Daniel weakly smiled when Killer was done with treating his scrapped knees. Then he hopped down from the bed and brushed the hems of his pants so his knees were covered once more. "Thanks, Killer."

Killer just grunted and stood back on his feet and then jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Just go and practice; your technique still needs work."

The boy nodded towards his teacher and smiled brightly this time then rushed out the door. "Okay!" he called out before shutting the door.

Killer merely chuckled with a shake of his head before leaving as well.

* * *

><p>The morning was crisp and dew clung to the Kidd Pirate vessel to make the wood glossy in the orange and yellow light. Heat was leading their flock, giving orders which way and that so the crew was busy at work unloading unwanted crates and barrels of unless supplies that needed replacing. But, among the bustling crowd on deck, Killer saw the distinct crimson fur coat of his captain by the railing.<p>

"Kidd?" Killer questioned the red head in mild shock. "What are you doing up so early?"

Kidd groaned, rubbing the back of his neck in slight pain. "Couldn't sleep a wink."

Killer tilted his head to the side, interested. "What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing," Kidd shrugged, tossing the subject aside. "Don't worry about it."

Killer decided to let it slide and continue on with something different. "Where's Gabriella?"

"She and Chamberlain went to get those bitches a job," Kidd answered. "She said they were cooks before they were captured."

"If they're cooks then why don't we keep 'em on board?" Killer asked curiously. "We could always use more cooks in the kitchen to feed _this_ crew," and he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the men rowdily working.

"You know how Tom is," Kidd reminded. "He's like a territorial feline and will hiss and scratch until you limp out a bloody mess."

"He'd be working with _girls_, though," Killer stressed the keyword.

"_Teenage_ girls," Kidd corrected. "If they were women, the story would be completely different."

"True," Killer agreed.

"So that's two problems out of my hair," Kidd grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Especially now since I don't have to worry about Madeline trying to maul Riley everyday."

Killer stared at Kidd, not liking who the conversation brought up. "I think I'm going to scout the island a bit," the masked blonde then stepped away from the railing, stretching his arms over head. "Just to make sure nothing surprises us."

"Okay," Kidd nodded.

"Oh," Killer had one more thing to add before he left. "If anyone asks where I went, you know nothing."

Kidd rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I'm _not_ gonna tell Madeline."

Killer then gave his captain a mock salute while walking away. "That's all I ask.

* * *

><p>The island was larger than most that Killer and the crew had docked at in the past, but the towns were all little things with barely ten buildings to its name. The majority of the island was agricultural fields, such as corn, wheat, apples, beans, and more. There were no enemies, no treasure, and probably not a whole lot of money to steal, anyway. However, Killer thought this was the perfect place to perform a raid. Having…<em>err, <em>free fresh food would be highly beneficial. Tom would appreciate working with fresh foods such as these; he was always yapping about never having enough corn for cornbread and now he would have tons of it. The island's number one crop was corn apparently. Though, Killer found it odd that wheat seemed to be the worst selling one, and the masked blonde would have thought that wheat would be number one since it was used in bread: the diet of the commoner.

Also, wheat was used to brew beer. And Killer knew just how important beer was to his crew: a lot.

But this island was as dry as an old lady's vagina. Not a single drop of alcohol was in this place, which caused Killer to investigate even more. That's when he found out that the island purposely didn't brew beer with their wheat so that pirates wouldn't be tempted to stay, which would have worked, if, Killer hadn't found the smuggling operation. Free booze and free food; what more could a pirate ask for.

"Well," Killer clicked his tongue as he observed from the shadows as the farmers rolled casks of beer into the cellar of a tavern. "Seems like Kidd will like to hear 'bout this," and he turned on his heel to make way back to the ship.

Being familiar with the paths between towns and also in them, Killer was able to get back rather quickly. Yet, by the time he got back to the town his crew was staying at, it was already dark out.

"Must have really scooped this place out…" he mumbled to himself as he walked down an alley. "Maybe a little too much…" he added, scratching the back of his head. But then he paused, took a moment to think then, with a small step back, he glanced down to see the moon glancing off something metallic.

He bent over taking the tiny thing between his fingers and closely inspected it, finding out that it was a golden hoop earring. _Huh_, his brows furrowed in confusion, where had he seen this little thing before?

"_That's mine!_" A feminine voice snapped violently and then the piece of jewelry was snatched from his grasp.

Looking, Killer was met with the surprising image of Peggie.

She didn't even notice it was him again that found her missing earring and she just grumbled curses about the man named Rollen who stolen and hid the piece of gold for a second time. But when her earring was back in its place in her lobe, she looked up in shock. "_You again!_"

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Killer coyly rebutted. "I believe this is the second time I found your earring."

"Yeah, so," she scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "What do you want? A reward?" she then mockingly asked.

Killer took the comment with great amusement and place a hand to the wall behind the mage and slyly said: "_Maybe._"

Peggie stared blankly at the masked blonde hovering over her personal space. Then her thin brows furrowed together. "Are you _hitting_ on me?"

Killer sighed and hung his head slightly. "Look," he said, glancing back up at her. "I haven't had game in over _two_ years because this psychopathic stalker beats the shit out of every pretty whore that comes up to me."

Peggie scowled darkly at a certain key term.

"But you aren't some whore," Killer redeemed himself, since he was trying to get some action after all. "I'm positive a girl like you could destroy this maniac that won't leave me the fuck alone."

Peggie's hard features softened and with an emotionless expression on her face, she thoughtfully tapped a finger to her arm. "And why would I bed a complete stranger that happened to find my earring twice by chance?"

"Because you're obviously stressed," Killer smoothly replied. "This Rollen you spoke of seems to really irritate you and it stresses you out because no matter what you do he won't stop, right?"

Peggie shifted back and forth on her heels, glancing anywhere but at the masked blonde.

Killer smirked from behind his mask; he hit it right on the nail, huh? "So, sex is a way to loosen up and relieve stress, and well, if you don't believe me, then I can…_prove_ it," he tempting whispered in her ear.

Peggie was silent with her lips pulled into a deep frown. She then pushed away from the wall she was forced to lean against and started to walk away. For a brief moment, Killer thought he lost his chance, but then Peggie stopped and quietly said: "I get top."

Killer blinked, but then a smirk came to his lips and he replied: "You have to fight me for that."

* * *

><p>"Kidd…" Gabriella tugged on his mechanical hand. "We have to get to the wheat field soon. I got a message from that mage; she said it was important."<p>

"I know, I know," Kidd sighed, waving it aside. "We'll go there as soon as I find Killer. He should'a been back ages ago."

Gabriella frowned lightly. "Do you think he's okay?"

"Yeah," Kidd nodded. "He's not the type to get captured."

"…unlike me," Gabriella looked down at her toes guiltily.

Kidd stopped, gazing down at her. Maybe it could have been her, or maybe just bad luck with being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Kidd thought differently. It was that damn fucking fortune. For the time being, he just ignored what she said; he would discuss that issue with her later. Right now he had to find Killer.

"Let's check the inn," he suggested, grabbing her hand and started to lead her to the only building that was still open at three in the morning. "Bartenders know almost everything."

Gabriella merely nodded and followed silently behind.

At the tiny inn, Kidd ignored the cowering patrons and strolled calmly towards the small bar on the other side of the room. "Have you seen my first mate?" Kidd didn't bother giving a description since the bartender looked to have a very good idea on what Killer looked like in the back of his mind.

"He—he, err, went up stairs, C-Captain," the bartender stuttered anxiously as he focused fully on cleaning the already spotless glass in hand. "H—he rented a room."

Kidd's brows furrowed lightly and he glanced over to his summoner mage, but Gabriella only shrugged. Then he looked back to the bartender. "And why did he rent a room," since he and the others decided not to spend money and just sleep it out on the ship for a day or two.

"H—he had a lady with me," the bartender replied. "I pretty little blonde if I remember correctly."

Kidd blinked in slightly shock and then looked back to Gabriella, seeing she was equally as stunned as he was. "Well then," Kidd took a step back from the bar and towards the door. "Looks like our work here is done," and then he left with Gabriella in tow.

As the couple walked in the fresh air of night, they were silent while making their way towards the wheat field the mage had told them to meet her at through messenger bird. Then Gabriella broke the silence.

"Maddie's gonna have a fit, a fucking, violent, bloody fit."

"That's_ if_ she finds out," Kidd gave her a pointed glare; he didn't want to deal with _that_ kind of drama.

"She's gonna find out," Gabriella corrected. "As creepy as it is, she knows _everything_ Killer does."

"Fuck." Kidd grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Why is she like this? Seriously. She's fuckin' insane."

"We covered that base when you two first met her, Kidd," Gabriella reminded. "And it's you who said she could come, so, in a way, it's your fault you did this to him."

Kidd stopped and glared at her before snapping: "_Zip it_," and he made the action of his pressed forefinger and thumb sliding over his lips quickly and then he walked away.

Gabriella simply giggled and caught up to him, slipping her hand into his large metal one.

The breeze floated over the stocks of wheat around them and an eerie presence gave the summoner mage the heebie jeebies, making her move closer to Kidd for comfort, but there was little to fear since the soft white glowing of orbs signaled that Shelbie was close. The conjurer was sitting on a stump that took refuge in a tiny clearing free of wheat. She sat there with a somewhat bored expression on her face as she poked the belly of a fairy hovering in front of her, making the tiny mythical creature flustered when her little dress became wrinkled.

Though, Shelbie noticed the crunch of boots against old grass and she looked over to see Kidd and Gabriella. Her brows rose gently. "Is it alright if he hears?" She asked the summoner mage.

"Its fine," Gabriella nodded. "He knows."

"Ah, I see," Shelbie nodded in return and she stood up, dusting bits of dust from her white robes. "I came to update you on a few things. The first being that my comrades in town shouldn't bother you, so don't worry if you see them. I told them all about the situation and they are treating this as a vacation of the sorts. Also, we have cut off communication with the Council."

Gabriella's brows furrowed in concern. "Is that a good idea?"

"It should be fine," Shelbie reassured. "Though you summoned the Hellion, the Council is more worried about Ameria right not because she stole the crystal meant to track her. She will take priority for the moment."

"And what happened after that?" Kidd warily asked.

"I will briefly contact the Council and say we are still on your trail," Shelbie replied. "Master Orb is not only keeping taps with Calamity, he is watching over the Council for me so I'll know when to contact them and everything will settled down for a time. During that time, Copy Cat will have fallen."

Gabriella's grip tightened on Kidd's metal hand so then fake joints creaked loudly in the empty air of the wheat field. Her brows furrowed together and coldly, she whispered. "That means…"

Shelbie nodded. "Yes. The Gem is almost complete."


	89. Chapter 86: BABIES

Coyote-Starrk-LG: I'm gad that you have been enjoying my stories, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy them. :)

AliceLaw: I thought people would be against the idea...but Killer is a man...with a stalker...that beats up women trying to flirt with him...he has had no action since the moment Madeline became part of the crew. ... I think that explains enough logic(?), though I wouldn't know since I'm FAR from being a man. My boobs and the lack of a you-know-what tell me so.

Alpenwolf: The reaction will come in a later date, for reasons of laziness and tiredness.

Girl-luvs-manga: Copy Cat will die, sooner or later. Killer got some.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Sadly, Madeline WILL found out, just not in this chapter. Oh and the merge...well...

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: There WILL be a fight, just not now...I'm late with the chapter and I can't write anymore (for this week). T.T

This chapter is LONG. This update took LONGER than I hoped. I had the LONGEST day ever. I wanted to sleep. But I didn't, not until the chapter was complete. Because I love you guys.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 86: BABIES.<p>

"…So, he started to climb out of the hole of Rabbit's home." Gabriella softly read to her boys that were curled up on either side of her form. "He pulled with his front paws and pushed with his back ones. He wiggled his nose as he went out and his ears twitched in the breezy fresh air, but when his shoulders tried to come out, they wouldn't budge."

"Oh dear," Benjamin the bear gasped. "He got stuck. Will he be able to get out?" he asked worriedly; out of all the books in the world, Winnie the Pooh was the only one he hadn't read.

"You'll have to see," Daniel told the talking bear as he yawned loudly; after a year, Daniel had heard this story many times, yet never got bored of it. Sleepy, yes, but that was the point of a bedtime story.

Gabriella merely smiled as she held the book open in her lap; the old story book was worn and torn from years of page turning and dog ears. It was her memento from her younger carefree years. Even though she still carried the book around, she didn't read it much until Daniel came into her life. When he first came aboard the ship, he had trouble sleeping for obvious reasons. So, she would read him Winnie the Pooh to calm his nerves and give him happy thoughts for good dreams rather than nightmares.

Daniel no longer had the nightmares, but it had become a routine to read him a chapter before bed. At least he still enjoyed it, as well as Hamish and Benjamin.

"_'Oh, help!'_ cried Pooh, _'I better go back,'_ but when Pooh tried to shuffle back, he found he could not move. _'Oh bother!' _cried Pooh, _'I shall have to go on,'_ but when Pooh tried to move forward, he found that he could not move ag—"

_Knock, knock_.

Gabriella paused midsentence and looked up, seeing Kidd appear as the door slowly opened. "Yes?" she curiously asked when she saw the unreadable look on his face hidden by shadows.

There was a tiny frown on his lips as he answered: "I need to talk to you."

Gabriella shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a frown tugging on the corner of her lips. "_'_Kay…but I need to finish this first," she replied, holding up the open book in hand.

Kidd nodded lightly. "I'll be in the room," and then he closed the door, disappearing from sight as the clicks of his heavy boots faded away slowly.

Gabriella had the gut feeling deep down that every woman gets when her man says _they need to talk_. Half of her wanted to just hurry up and get it over with, but the other half just wanted to wait it out as long as possible. If it was important to Kidd, he would have dragged her out by the teeth. That led her to the decision to take her time and finish reading to her boys; right now they came first. She had to finish the chapter about how poor Winnie Pooh got stuck in Rabbit's door due to over eating honey. Benjamin the bear was very pleased when his friends got Winnie the Pooh out; he was going to be able to sleep well tonight.

So, tucking them all in, she kissed Benjamin and Daniel on the foreheads before saying good night then grabbed her wiggly Hamish in her arms and then left the room to be greeted by Madeline.

"Don't go in there yet," Gabriella said to her friend as she closed the door. "I just put the boys—" she stopped when she saw the flustered look on Madeline's face and blinked, feeling that she already knew what was on her best friend's mind. And it had nothing to do with her not being able to go into her own room.

"I have the gut suspicion that Killer cheated on me," she grumbled with furrowed brows and crossed arms.

Gabriella felt a bead of sweat slip down her cheek. Oh, if she knew the dirty deeds Killer did the other night with a supposed pretty blonde. "Well…" Gabriella slowly started to say when Madeline's suspicious expression grew into a dangerous looking one. "Killer can't cheat on you because you guys _aren't_ together."

Madeline glared pointedly at the summoner mage. "That's what he thinks," she ominously replied.

"…" Gabriella stared at her, looked down at Hamish who whined uncomfortably, and then looked back at Madeline. This was a conversation she didn't want to get into right now, especially since she could have blooming relationship problems of her own, _real_ ones, that is. "Okay then. You think that. I'll be going," and she pointed down the hall where her room was and quickly turned on her heel in that direction.

"And tell Kidd I want my own room!" Madeline called out to her.

She whipped around, brows furrowed together and a finger to her lips. "Shh!" she hushed and pointed to the closed door, mouthing the words _they are sleeping_. The thin summoner mage then mouthed the words _get me my own room_ and the summoner mage rolled her eyes and turned around. "I'll try," Gabriella softly called over her shoulder, indifferent to the idea.

But… maybe she should take it into consideration since Madeline was being so noisy, but also because she didn't want her babies to accidently walk in on Madeline… Yeah, Gabriella had walked in on Madeline, it was disturbing by far, but as a friend she was able to ignore it and call it…an act of nature. But her boys…Benjamin already _heard_ stuff; she didn't need both of them hearing or even seeing. Gabriella would definitely run this by Kidd; for her babies' sakes.

Going back to her shared room with Kidd, she opened the door to see her boyfriend sitting on the edge of the bed. The moonlight coming from the porthole glared down on the back of his head and coat, causing the red hue to glow a hazy light purple. His eyes were covered in shadows and his shoulders drooped as he leaned over to look at his journal resting on his lap.

Gabriella shut the door with her back, the tiny click not rousing Kidd from his trance; not even Hamish could rip his daddy's eyes from his journal when the puppy pranced over. Curious, she tip-toed over to Kidd and nestled down next to him then rested her chin against the fur of his coat covering his mechanical arm.

"What'd you wanna talk about?" She quietly asked, wrapping her fingers around one of his large iron fingers.

Kidd didn't say anything and continued to stare at the quick cursive words on the page, which made Gabriella try and sneak a peek. Though, Kidd finally moved and simply handed her a slip of paper that had been resting in the journal's binding, the item he had been staring at intensely.

Blinking, she took the tiny slip between her fingers in confusion and stared at it. "Is this a fortune? Like from a _fortune cookie_ fortune?"

Kidd nodded, yet he made no eye contact with her and focused on scratching an eager Hamish behind the ears.

More confused than before, she looked down at the paper that could make Kidd act this way and read the words aloud. "_If she was stolen once, she shall be stole again and forever more…_"she fell silent, letting the information sink in. "_You_ got this?"

Kidd nodded silently again.

"And this…this has to do with _me._"

Kidd nodded for the third time.

Gabriella felt a brick drop in the pit of her gut and for a long moment there was silence safe for the crew in the faint background and Hamish whining with concern at Kidd's feet. "I…caused you a lot of trouble…" she then finally spoke. "Didn't I?"

"No," Kidd finally spoke, and in one swift move, Gabriella found her back to the bed and Kidd hovering over her. "No," he said again with a glare on his face as he shook his head. "It was that piece of paper, not you. If I hadn't opened it then none of this would of happened."

"But…didn't you say not to believe in this kind of stuff?" Gabriella had that fleeting moment of when she was paranoid of her fortune. Kidd may have calmed her nerves on that subject, but if Kidd all of a sudden thought that the fortunes would come true… _Oh fuck_, was she in trouble or what.

"I didn't believe it at first," Kidd agreed. "But then I couldn't ignore it anymore."

"…sorry," Gabriella mumbled a weak apology; she felt a simple sorry wouldn't be enough.

And Kidd scowled at her, which made her feel worse, but then he suddenly flicked her gently on the forehead with mechanical fingers. "Don't apologize for something that's not your fault. I showed this to you to warn you that fate it being a bitch right now. A fortune isn't forever. There is a cause for it and I'm guessin' if we take out the guy who started this, the fortune will go away."

"D—do you really think that will help?" Gabriella asked quietly.

Kidd sighed, placing his mechanical hand to her cheek and forced her to look him in the eyes. "I do. Ya gotta have hope there's a way," and he kissed her forehead gently as his iron fingers brushed away locks of ginger hair. "As much as I _love_ to play the ironic role of hero, I can't play it forever."

Gabriella smiled weakly. "You know that means killing a Vice Admiral, right?"

"_Hah,_" Kidd laughed dully at the challenge. "I think it'll be harder to _find_ the sneak than actually _fighting_ the bastard."

Gabriella giggled and tilted her head to rest comfortably in the metal palm then reached around with her own hand so it held the back of his mechanical one. "I can always play bait. Just make sure you're close to save the princess and slay the dragon," she joked lightly.

"Princess?" Kidd scoffed with a playful smirk. "You? _A princess?_ I laugh at the thought."

Gabriella gasped and punched him in the chest. "Take that back!"

Kidd laughed loudly, which earned him another punched. "Of course," he murmured sweetly and swiftly kissed her lips. "You're my princess, babe."

"Queen," Gabriella coyly corrected.

Kidd grinned smugly and stated: "The Queen for my Kingdom."

* * *

><p>Gabriella stirred from sleep, but found that there was a distinct lack of warmth from her side, and little Hamish curled up on her side did not count. She stretched out her arms blindly to find the lumbering muscular form of her boyfriend, but all she found was Hamish. The puppy yelped when her hand unintentionally shoved him off the bed and Hamish thumped to the floor before scampering off to something of interest, barking wildly.<p>

"…Did you just push 'im off the bed?"

"Uhh…?" Gabriella rolled and lifted her head from the bed sheets to see Kidd looking worse for ware with Hamish eagerly trying to climb his leg to reach Kidd's hand for a good head rubbing. "Wha're you doing up so earlier?"

"Eh, Killer woke me up," Kidd grumbled as he scratched the back of his head. "We have a raid."

Gabriella propped her elbows up on the bed and rested her chin on entwined fingers. "Killer has a secret way of waking you up, huh?"

Kidd glared, his eyes gazing into the not too distant past. "If you call pulling me by the hair a secret way, then no; he's lucky I didn't do anything to wake you up."

"Awe~" Gabriella cooed with a sugary smile. "That's so sweet."

Kidd just grunted and rolled his eyes.

Gabriella giggled and decided to move along to something else. "Are you going to take a shower?"

"Nah," Kidd waved the thought aside. "No point until after the raid, ya know?"

"True," Gabriela shrugged, indifferent with his reasoning. "That just means I can take a super long bath," and she smiled girlishly down at her puppy. "Wanna take a bath with Mommy, Hammie?"

Hamish tilted his head and whined in confusion before looking back and forth between his mommy and daddy. Then he scampered off to his doggy bed and then came back with a brown stained Marine cap. The puppy trotted over to his daddy and sat at Kidd's feet, wagging his little tail eagerly.

Kidd's brow rose with interest. "You wanna get more trophies, huh?" He questioned the puppy, and Hamish let out a muffled bark and jumped up, ready to leap out the door. Kidd chuckled. "Then come on," and he ushered the puppy to follow him out the door. And then they were gone.

Gabriella laid there in shock, then the side of her head flopped against the sheets and she whined with a deep frown: "My Baby doesn't wanna hang out with Mommy."

Then suddenly Musket appeared, slinking over her side and he said: "I'll take a bath with you, Master."

Gabriella sighed, but she smiled weakly and grabbed her familiar in her arms. "Thanks, honey," and she hugged him tightly.

* * *

><p>Gabriella rubbed a towel over her damp hair as she walked down the vacant halls of the ship. Most of the crew had gone on the raid and only a few were left behind, such as Doc and Jeremy. The summoner mage didn't have any desire to hang out with Doctor Dick, so she went on a search for Jeremy. If she found Jeremy, she'd find Benjamin, too.<p>

Though, instead of finding the bookworm teenager first, she actually stumbled upon the one she wanted in the first place.

"Hey Benji~" Gabriella cooed and bent over to get closer to her little baby bear. "You wanna go out shopping with me?"

Benjamin the bear blinked in confusion. "I would love to, Miss Gabriella," he replied as he adjusted the thick book under his arm. "But isn't Captain Eustass conducting a raid as we speak?"

"Not in this town," Gabriella corrected as she rested the towel around her neck. "You would hear the screams of death by now."

Benjamin wiggled his nose and his rounded ears twitched. "I suppose you are right on that aspect. It is rather quiet around this little fishing town."

"So you wanna go shopping, baby?" Gabriella asked again with a smile.

"Afraid I cannot, Miss Gabriella," Benjamin replied as he pulled on the hem of his red shirt. "I promised Jeremy that I would help him go over some theories," and then the baby bear turned on his paw and marched away.

Gabriella frowned deeply. "My baby's going off to do his own thing…" she mumbled grimly, feeling rather empty inside. But then she felt a tiny hand slip into hers, and she looked down to see Daniel smiling up at her.

"I'll go shopping with you," he told her happily.

Gabriella weakly smiled and tightened her grip on his hand. "Thank you, sweetie," and then they went off into town.

* * *

><p>The citizens were anxious since they knew what was going on around their island and they were worried they would get attacked as well. The people were clearly trying to surpass the troubling thoughts and continue on with their daily lives, which made it easy for Gabriella to still shop with her Dannie Baby.<p>

Looking down the stalls with spine stiff owners and nail biting customers, Gabriella had to do a double-take at one when she saw something glimmer in the sunlight. "Crystal spheres," she mumbled with tiny smile as she examined them all.

She hadn't picked up a crystal sphere for her collection in forever. Due to all the chaos, it seemed impossible for her to go shopping leisurely like this. So, it was nice to relax and take in what the island had to offer. Finding a sphere that drew her eye, her took the colored gold glass between her fingers and inspected it.

"Hmm?" She hummed in thought. "This one's pretty, don't you think—" she looked over to Daniel to find that the boy had felt her side.

Daniel had run over to the newly returned Killer fresh from battle, tugging on his arm in eager excitement to hear about the tales of battle and wealth.

Gabriella frowned deeply. "My baby's all grown up…" she quietly said.

Then her attention was turned to Musket who had emerged again and placed a clawed hand to the crystal sphere. "I think it's very pretty, Master."

Gabriella weakly smiled. "Thanks…" but the small moment of happiness did not last.

* * *

><p>Gabriella shuffled back to the ship, holding Musket like a teddy bear to her chest while her familiar held the tiny box that protected her newly purchased crystal sphere. A deep frown tugged on the corner of her lips as she weaved through the mass of her crew that celebrated their new haul. She ignored them all and went to the one person that mattered.<p>

She stood before Kidd and rested her forehead against his rumbling chest then she sighed heavily.

Kidd bellowed in laughter and placed a hand to the back of her head, fingers fiddling with her ginger hair. "Why so glum?" He cheerfully asked in haunting glee. "This is a good day, lack of sleep n' all!"

Gabriella groaned unhappily and the warmth of her magic came to her hands as they started to glow gold.

"Whoa!" Kidd yelped in shock when his balance gave way at his heels.

He started to tumble backwards; though, he did not feel the brutal impact of his back against the ground. Instead, he felt the fluff of his sheets, blankets and mattress. Blinking in confusion, he looked up at his summoner mage straddling his hips.

And his jaw went slack. "Why are you crying?" he asked quickly, bewildered to see tears flowing down Gabriella's red stained cheeks.

"I—I don't know," she sniffed, tightening her grip around Musket so the winged goblin squeaked like a rubber ducky.

Kidd sat up the best he could so he didn't make his emotional girlfriend titter backwards. "Did something happen?" He asked, feeling a bit of rage fill his gut; if something happened when he was away…

"T—They've all grown up!" she cried, wiping away more tears that started to fall from her eyes. "They don't wanna be around me! I only have Musket and it makes me really sad!"

Kidd, completely clueless to why she was crying, just stared at her, but he stopped wondering why and focused on fixing the situation. He didn't like to see her cry. Adjusting his position, he was able to hold her comfortably on his lap and in his arms. "Just calm down and tell me what will make it better, okay?" He told her and hugged her tightly.

Gabriella rested her head against his shoulder and said: "I want another baby."

"Okay, I'll—" Kidd stopped mid-thought as his eyes opened wide and he held his summoner mage out at arms length so he could stare at her. "When the _fuck_ did we have a _first?_"

* * *

><p>Stupidly—though Kidd wouldn't admit it—it took him two minutes to fully understand that Gabriella didn't want to <em>have<em> baby, but she just _wanted_ baby, like another dog. So, to make his girlfriend happy, and satisfy the maternal void in her heart, Kidd took her to get a puppy. Luckily, a neighboring town they didn't ransack had a small pet store.

Though, the type of dog she wanted did **not** go along with what he could handle. Seriously.

He glared darkly at the mutt being held in his face, narrow eyes making the poor frightened animal quiver in fear at the seer sight. "No," was all he said.

"But I want a little puppy, Kidd," Gabriella whined and held the shaken pup to her cheek. "And a chiwawa is just the doggy; it's like he'll never grow up!"

Kidd's brows furrowed in a deep knot. "_No_," he repeated, harsher and more firm. He loved his girl, but he just would **not** allow a _purse dog_ on his ship, _ever_.

Gabriella pouted and her eyes formed into that of a begging puppy at the table who wanted the scraps of uneaten bacon. "_Please?_"

"**No!**" Kidd barked, his tone snappy and full of attitude.

Gabriella huffed and gently placed the puppy back in the pen with his brothers and sisters. "Rude," she grumbled. "You said you would get me anything to make me feel better."

"I have to draw the line somewhere," Kidd grumbled back as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever happened to doing something just for the sake of love?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, if you loved me, you wouldn't ruin my reputation."

"Reputation? I think the term you're thinking of is over inflated ego."

"Really now? You're hitting below the belt now."

"It's only true. You'd never do anything if your ego was on the line."

"Okay. Stop. You know that is not true. I'm letting you get a new dog!

"Not the dog I want! Kidd, I—I just want a new baby!"

"D—Don't say it like that! And don't cry, god damn it fuck, just don't cry."

"You're just being mean…"

"Mean!? I'm trying to make you feel better! That's why we're here!"

"Um, excuse me?" A new voice added to the mix, and the flustered couple looked to see the slightly nervous owner of the pet store. "You're, err, can I help you?"

Since Gabriella was on the verge of an emotional, motherly breakdown, Kidd answered the question. "She wants a new dog, do you have anything violent?"

"I—I want a little baby," Gabriella sniffled, wiping her eyes before tears came out.

"So…" the owner slowly said. "A little...violent dog? I think I have something…" then he whistled a distinct tune and a little dog with bloody trophy between his teeth came over and sat on his rump.

And when Gabriella saw that is was a big, fat rat in the dog's mouth, she jumped into Kidd's arm, screaming in pure terror.

"It—it's only a Miniature Italian Greyhound, Miss…" the owner nervously said when he saw her reaction.

"It's not the dog," Kidd grumbled. "It's the rat."

"Oh," the owner awed and crouched down to take the dead animal from the dog. "I'll just take care of this. You can check on the dog, he's still a pup so he doesn't have a name," and then he left with rat in hand.

When the vermin was gone, Gabriella was able to hop down from Kidd's hold and tip-toed over to the miniature greyhound. The summoner mage crouched down and slowly patted the top of the pup's head and smiled when he whined happily. "I like this one," she whispered and picked the puppy up.

Kidd's brow arched. "You like a dog that looks like a rat?"

Gabriella scowled at him and then lifted a leg to shove the heel of her foot to his thigh, which made Kidd grunt in pain. The summoner mage ignored him and simply turned her attention back to her new baby. "You are a killer, getting all those icky rats and mice; you're like a sneaky assassin, aren't you? Aren't you~?" she cooed and hugged the puppy to her cheek.

Kidd sighed; there was no way he'd change her mind now. But hey, at least the dog had a killing gene in him. "So, what are you going to name 'im?"

Gabriella hummed in thought as she held her new pup like a newborn babe. But then she smiled and giggled happily at her captain. "I have the perfect name."

* * *

><p>Kidd sighed, shaking his head as he walked alongside his summoner mage as she sung to her new baby.<p>

"_Ezio, Ezio, Ezio Auditore~. Ezio Auditore~._"

Kidd sighed again; it just such a weird name for a dog.

At the ship again, Killer over watched the crew looking through their new hoard. He looked a little frustrated, probably because Madeline was trying to interrogate him about last night. Though, the conversation he was trying to ignore was permanently pushed aside when the masked blonde saw his captain, but he paid more attention to the gleefully summoner mage. Killer looked to the dog cradled in her arms and then to Kidd.

Kidd groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "She's happy," was all he said.

Killer was silent for a moment, but then he said: "Whipped."

Kidd growled at his first mate. "Stuff it," he snapped with a glare.

Killer decided it was wise to avoid continuing the conversation and asked: "Do you know where Chamberlain is?"

And speak of the devil, the navigator said: "I'm here," right behind them.

The captain and first mate turned around, but blinked in confusion when they saw a new tag along with the navigator.

"It's a dog, guys," Chamberlain bluntly said. "Don't stare at it like it's an alien."

"_Dog?_" Kidd scoffed. "That thing is a small _horse!_"

"It's an Irish Hound," Chamberlain corrected. "I think," he added unsurely.

"Why…do you have a dog?" Killer slowly asked.

Chamberlain shrugged. "Dunno. He sorta started following me around and I can't shake him," he explained. "I think I'll call him Kilrain, Buster Kilrain," and the large, scruffy hound barked deeply with a happy note.

Kidd groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're not actually gonna keep—"

Then the voice of Gabriella gasped behind him and she appeared next to Kilrain. "Another baby!" She practically squeaked in pure happiness. "_This is the best day ever!_" and Kilrain thought so, too since the hound barked eagerly and gave his new mommy lots of doggy kisses.

Kidd groaned again; _great_.

"You know…" Killer mumbled in thought. "Gabriella considers Dan, Ben, and now Kilrain her, err, 'babies', and we are like, uh…'father figures'. Does that mean Jeremy, you—" he pointed to Chamberlain. "—and me are—"

"_NO,_" Kidd cut him off. "Just _**NO**_."

* * *

><p>Who thought this had to do with a prego Gabriella? Say<strong> I.<strong>

:D AC is the best game ever~.

And Gettysburg fans will get the connection between Chamberlain and Kilrain. But do you know the truth? Because I do. :D


	90. Chapter 87: Reunion Time

Girl-luvs-manga: Well~

Alpenwolf: Hmm, punny, lol. And Ezio is the best. :D

AliceLaw: Gabriella wants to be the mama of all the babies in the world, whether they human or not. But, she really wants her OWN baby. Hint, hint Kidd.

LoveChocolateAndRock'nRoll: If Gabriella really got her way, they half of Kidd's crew would be babies, and bears. Can't forget the bears. Oh~ wait until she meets Bepo. I smell a new baby in the air. :D

Coyote-Starrk-LG: :p

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Gabriella will show him...sooner or later... And Killer was going to say that since Daniel and Kilrain and like his and Chamberlain's "sons" and Gabriella's "babies" then Gabriella is in a "relationship" with both Killer and Chamberlain. Yeah. Kidd didn't want to hear that.

Velonica14: Hmm...maybe starting from the beginning is good, but I started a book series and never read the first book and I still love it with a burning passion. So, if you don't want to read, you can ask questions and I'll answer them all. :)

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Ezio is the greatest Assassin ever, along with Altair, Connor and now Edward, and does Haythem count? Eh, I guess not...? But you get my point. I LOVE Assassin's Creed. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine

* * *

><p>Chapter 87: Reunion Time<p>

The dim light trickled in, barely lighting the shadowy objects on his desk. Only the lone candle lit the small area for his eyes, the drippy wax pooling into a thick puddle on the base. Hawkins sat in his quarters, leaning over the table as he examined his cards by the tiny light and he was greatly disturbed by the fortune. Something evil was approaching and with each passing minute it got closer and closer to him. He frowned deeply at the thought; this was a bad omen, a bad omen indeed.

"_Captain,_" the voice of his first mate came from the other side of the door as the rapping of knuckles followed. "_Land is approaching,_" and then the quick heels of the man's boots faded away into the distance.

Heavily, Hawkins stood up and made his way to deck to join his first mate so they could examine the new land together. Once outside, he saw the ominous fog that surrounded his ship along with the hazy outline of the island in the close distance, the faint glow of red lit up the thick fog while tiny white pulses from the highest tower. He hummed in thought as he shuffled his tarot cards swiftly and then began to conduct the fortune process. He frowned grimly at what he saw, and he was also slightly confused. From experience, usually his cards would present the same reading every time, like when he tried to see if Straw Hat Luffy would live or die that fateful day over two years ago; no matter what he did, the reading was the same. But this time was different; the fortune changed, and quite drastically.

His first mate then walked to his side and frowned along with him. "What's wrong?" He asked when he saw the look on his captain's face.

"There's something foul afoot," Hawkins replied, his brows furrowing together. "Something is interfering with my reading; something such as this has never happened before. It troubles me."

His first mate's brow rose in curiosity. "Then shall we dock to see what's up? Investigating the cause would make you feel better; I know how paranoid you can get about things like this."

"No," Hawkins declared as he shook his head and placed his precious cards in the pocket of his coat. "I refuse to go on that island."

His first mate blinked in shock. "Is it _that _bad?" He asked, and his captain nodded slowly, which made the first mate uneasy. "Then…what do you want to do, Captain? Turn around and go to another island? We have two other choices and all."

"No…" Hawkins repeated, remembering that the first and second reading had on thing in common. So, he then held a hand out to his side, waiting. "Someone get me a den-den mushi instead."

* * *

><p>Apoo glared at the thick fog in front of him, placing his hand to his forehead and he squinted from behind the thin glass of his goggles. It didn't help at all, all he saw was dark waters and foggy skies. The he placed a hand to his hip and the other to his chin. "I don't like the look of this place…" he muttered to his first mate close by. "But Hawkins said something was…'<em>afoot<em>' here. You think something is '_afoot_' here?"

His first mate merely shrugged and continued his task at the helm.

"I think there's nothing '_afoot_' here," Apoo answered his own question. "Just because a place is foggy doesn't mean something is '_afoot_', right? Right? Right."

His first mate glared at him, annoyed.

"I mean, if something was truly '_afoot_' here then Hawkins would have hightailed it outta here, right? Right? Right," Apoo nodded to himself. "So, there's no way something '_afoot_' is happening on this island '_afoot_', huh?" Then he looked towards his first mate, waiting for an answer.

His first mate scowled at him. "Say '_afoot_' one more time and I'm gonna slug you."

"_Touchy_," Apoo huffed and he crossed his arms over his chest, but then his attention was turned to the lone ship sitting among the foggy waves: Hawkins's ship. His first mate knew what to do and steered the ship to the other, and once close enough, Apoo leaped in the air, flipping with grace and then landed easily on his ally's deck. "_Hawkins!_ Long time no see, my friend!" Apoo greeted heartily with a friendly grin and open arms like he was waiting for a hug.

Hawkins stared up at the long-armed captain blankly from his seat on one of the many crates lounging on his deck. "Who invited you onto my ship?" was all he asked with the faintest look on annoyance on his face.

Apoo stared at him. "Err…you did."

"I told you to come to the island," Hawkins elaborated for the long-armed captain. "I never told you to get onto my ship."

"_Hmph,_" Apoo scoffed, feeling slightly offended since he was being nice to the fortune teller, after all. "Whatever. But do you know if Kidd's coming, too? When I called he hung up, and I wanted to talk to Gabriella, too," he pouted childishly.

"He is," Hawkins replied as he began to shuffle his cards. "I made sure of it."

Apoo's brow rose, curious. "Why?"

"Because this has to do with Gabriella," Hawkins answered with grim seriousness.

* * *

><p>Gabriella sighed deeply with a smile as she read one of Kidd's astrology books and used Kilrain as a pillow, the large hound sleeping soundly with Ezio on the floor in the room Kidd gave to Benjamin the bear and Daniel. After talking with Kidd, Gabriella was able to convince him to give Madeline her own room. And that gave her boys more space to be, well, boys.<p>

"I don't friggin' believe it," Daniel gapped in shock. "I'm losing in Monopoly…to a _dog_."

Hamish barked smugly.

"Well," Benjamin started as he fiddled with a loose red thread on the hem of his shirt. "Dogs are considered to be rather smart."

Hamish barked in agreement

"I know _that_," Daniel snapped, feeling rather irritated. "But nothing like _this!_ He owns half the map!"

"You are only frustrated because you are dirt poor right now," Benjamin commented.

Hamish, again, barked in agreement.

Daniel's cheeks flared crimson red. "_Gabriella~_" he whined childishly. "They aren't being fair!"

Hamish whined in confusion.

"Not true," Benjamin countered. "Hamish is playing by rules completely."

Hamish woofed and nodded his fuzzy head.

Gabriella giggled at the sight of her flustered babies, admitting silently to herself that it was cute, but she had to be good about this. "The game isn't over yet, baby. You can turn it around at any time."

"Hmph!" Daniel huffed, a determined look on his face. "You're right! I can still win it all!"

"Good luck with that," Benjamin scoffed.

Hamish woofed wildly, almost as if he was laughing.

"I will!" Daniel yelled; eager to continue the game.

Gabriella chuckled at her boys and went back to her book. While waiting for the ship to arrive at Hawkins's location, Gabriella watched her boys play games, but she also read a book to pass the last leg of time. She decided to read some of Kidd's many books. They were all about stars, their legends, tales and locations in the night skies. She'd admit some things were boring and she found it hard to believe that Kidd, of all people, would read such a book as this, and others like it.

She sighed, forcing herself to turn the page to read on, but then the door creaked open and she looked up to see Kidd standing in the doorway.

"We're 'bout ten minutes from Hawkins and that bastard you call a…_friend_," he told her.

Upon hearing the words, Kilrain leaped from his lax position on his side and dashed out the door, barking happily to the navigator he knew would be on deck.

Gabriella sighed and sat up normal. "You made my pillow run away," she said as she placed Ezio on the floor beside her. "And please. Don't call Apoo that."

"Hmph," Kidd grunted and rolled his eyes. "Just come on," and he jerked his head to the side.

"Okay, okay," Gabriella waved him aside and got up, grabbing up the book she was reading in one hand and Ezio in the other. "Are you three coming?" she then asked her boys playing Monopoly.

"Not until I win," Daniel replied.

"That will take a while," Benjamin sighed. "So no, we will not be coming."

Hamish grimly barked in agreement.

"Shut up!" Daniel snapped.

Gabriella sighed with a small smile. "Then can you watch Ezio for me, Dannie?"

"Uh-huh," Daniel mumbled in concentration and held out his hands to absently grab Ezio from the summoner mage.

"Now be good, all three of you," Gabriella said to them before she left with Kidd, and all three waved her comment aside and got knee deep in their game. She sighed and shook her head and started down the hall with a very amused Kidd. Before Kidd could say anything, Gabriella cut him off quickly and said. "I'm going to put this way first," and she turned on her heel to replace the book back in its proper place.

At the bookcase behind the desk, she scanned the shelving to find the place she took it from, but then hands came down on either side of her, a normal one then a metal one, trapping her comfortably in place.

Kidd leaned in close, resting his chin against her shoulder. "You were reading them?"

Gabriella tilted her head to the side and looked at him. "Yeah," she answered with a shrug, opening the book she had been reading and scanned the pages. "The legends are interesting, but all the history of how it's used for navigation and the locations in the sky is sorta…boring."

Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I beg to differ. It's important for a captain to know, so I guess you wouldn't understand."

"Maybe," Gabriella shrugged, indifferent on the subject. "But still hard to believe you enjoy readings _this_ stuff."

"My old Pops got me into it," Kidd told her. "He was the one that taught me everything 'bout pirating. If it wasn't for him I doubt I'd be a pirate since Dad skipped his chance; it's a Eustass tradition that father teaches son."

Gabriella's brow rose in curiosity. "Why'd your Dad not become a pirate?"

"He got the old ball n' chain," Kidd dryly chuckled. "Mom wouldn't allow it and what Mom wanted, she got; like when she wanted a daughter because her son was a moron in her eyes," he scoffed bitterly with a small snarl.

"Well, I don't think you're a moron, and I'm glad she had you," Gabriella smiled as she placed a hand to the side of his cheek to see that his sour-puss face of his. "You handsome beast, you, _muah_," and gave him a quick peck.

Kidd's brow rose, and he smirked lightly. "You rarely ever call me_ that_," he commented.

"Then you're gonna hear it more often," she sweetly replied as she put the book back and then bumped him away with her hip. "Now move your boot. I want to see my _very best friend~_" she sung lightly as she started to skip to the door.

Kidd groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please. Don't call Apoo that."

Gabriella just smiled and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Kidd scanned the hazy docks covered coated in mildew, seeing clusters of people that looked deathly ill, but Doc had muttered that it was only a bad case of the common cold, and Kidd believed it. Advertisements for a miracle water hung from crumbling, dusty walls. Someone was making a profit from the peoples' suffering; was this that evil Hawkins spoke of?<p>

Glancing over at the fortune teller, Kidd saw that Hawkins paid no attention to the posters or the people, only a dark alleyway. Hawkins was motioning towards it as he spoke with the summoner mages and the stone devil, confiding in them about this evil omen he sensed, but they all looked confused. Was it just Hawkins's paranoia? The man could tell the future and all, though Hawkins himself admitted that he didn't look that far into the future because he didn't want to ruin the fun of adventure. That was hard for Kidd to believe because he didn't think Hawkins knew anything about fun, but whatever.

Then Bedros and Madeline left the little group, going back to their own work assigned to them by Killer and Heat, but Gabriella stayed.

Kidd got curious about what was going on when he got a glimpse of Gabriella's face, and with Killer right behind him, he started to walk over to check it out.

"Where're you two going?" Apoo suddenly asked from the side. "Shouldn't we scope the island a bit and let Hawkins be Hawkins, or like, whatever. We need to see what this island as to offer, _right~?_" He said the words, implying a hunt for treasure.

Kidd scowled at the musician and rudely turned away. "Do as you want, but I have plans already."

Apoo scoffed, eyeing the red head oddly. "Someone's a little whipped."

"I know right," Killer agreed bluntly.

"_Hey!_" Kidd barked, feeling rather betrayed.

"I was only kidding," Killer defended, putting up his hands to calm his captain.

"I wasn't," Apoo huffed.

"And I don't give a fuck about you so scram, bitch," Kidd hissed as he turned on his heels, catching up to Gabriella and Hawkins who had disappeared down an alleyway.

He caught up quickly, slipping his hand into Gabriella's. She barely noticed him, more focused with the prediction Hawkins told her of, explaining that a great evil tied to her was here and it was strange that she and none of her friends could not feel it. Or, it was because of the deadly smell invading the area; the smell of death. Kidd, and the others, were used to it, but Gabriella still wasn't, even after two years she still gagged at the smell of rotting flesh.

"Can we, please~! _PLEASE!_"

The scream made them all stop, but Kidd and Killer exchanged glances; that was a voice no one could forget, never in a million years. And the two quickened their paces, making the other three follow in confusion. They hadn't met _him_ in person yet, had they? Well there was a first time for everything.

A new voice entered frame, but it was ignored easily because it was a quiet mutter compared to the childish whining of the other. "_Get off me will you—_"

And Kidd halted at the scene, making the others follow suit. No one spoke, but then the red head broke the silence and blurted out. "What the fuck is _this?_" which caused all eyes to fall on him.

This was unexpected.

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>


	91. Chapter 88: Team Up With ME!

Volleys-chan: Hmm, Bepo is not present at the reunion, BUT, Gabriella will glomp the bear. I swear on Bas's life. ... And he's not too happy that I said that. At all.

AliceLaw: Why thank you~ :)

Velonica14: Kidd does have a sister, who we'll meet...eh...soon?

Girl-luvs-manga: You'll find out now~ :D

Alpenwolf: You'll see soon enough~ :D

mrsfirefist: Awe~ Love you, too, dumpling~ And enjoy this. ;D

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Keep Zoro in mind...

WinterSoulstis: It's the first time I have ever done this, so be a bit patient with the pace...it builds up soon! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 88: Team Up With Me!<p>

"Hey Law, look!" Luffy bluntly pointed towards the red head, still clinging to Law's leg with an arm around it like a child would do. "It's that guy—eh—oh right, Kidd! Eus-ta-ta—I don't know how to say your last name—_Kidd!_"

Kidd's startled stare turned into an annoyed one, and it grew more irritated when Gabriella started to giggle at his side. He sent her a glare from the corner of his eyes, telling her to shut up, but she merely smiled at him with a tiny wink, her way of saying: _no way, honey_. Kidd scoffed and looked away, irritated by her actions.

"But I don't remember the guy's name with the long hair though," Luffy then blurted out with no shame, and Kidd couldn't help smirk a bit, but just a little bit.

"But Straw Hat," Trafalgar then spoke up, smirking with amusement at the situation arising. "He has the _easiest_ name to remember."

"Really?" Luffy's eyes went wide and he grinned eager. "What is it? _What is it?_"

"Killer," Law answered shortly.

"_Pfff!_" Luffy's enthusiasm deflated and he pouted in annoyance, puffing his cheeks out. "That's not a name; it's stupid."

Apoo snickered in the background, using a hand to cover his mouth, but Gabriella showed no shame in chuckling out in the open at the masked blonde as he stiffened with offense. And Kidd's smirk widened slightly at the sight of his own first mate getting made fun of; he was on his bad side because of the 'whipped' comment from earlier anyway.

"And Monkey D. Luffy is a clown's name," Killer dryly replied.

"No it's not!" Luffy pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

With the rubber captain's grip weakened, Law took the liberty of wedging his nodachi like a crowbar between the rubber captain's crossed legs and his, prying him away finally. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat about old times with a nice warm cup of tea, but we have business to attend to." And Law tipped his hat before grabbing Luffy by the collar then he turned swiftly on his heel to leave the area.

"Wait, Trafalgar," Hawkins spoke up from silence, a tarot card in hand.

Law looked over his shoulder at the fortune teller.

"There is something evil afoot here," Hawkins continued, pulling the cards from his pocket and began to shuffle them subconsciously. "And you reek of it, indirectly."

Kidd snickered lightly; whether Hawkins was serious or insulting, it was funny as hell all the same.

Law frowned. "And I took a shower this morning, too," he grimly joked.

Hawkins pressed his lips in a thin line of thought as he ignored the mild taunt. "You have no idea what I speak of, do you?"

"Not a clue," Law curtly replied with a small smirk and shrug as he dropped Luffy's collar, making the rubber captain flop to the ground.

Everyone ignored Luffy as he grumbled, sitting cross-legged on the dusty ground with arms crossed over his chest. Then the fortune teller spoke once more "Hmm…" Hawkins hummed as he closed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "This is most distressing…" and then he looked to the cards. "I don't like it when my interpretations of the cards turn out the way I didn't expect. They said Death would come and I thought it meant you, but…"

Gabriella looked worriedly over at the fortune teller, a deep frown pulling at the corner of her lips. "But what?" she then asked. "Do you think there is something else on the next card?"

Hawkins hummed again shuffling his cards quickly he then swiftly removed the top one from the pile and stared at it, his eyes opening a fraction wider. "It says Death will come from the Sky."

Kidd eyed the fortune teller oddly. "What do you mean by that?"

And as the fortune teller predicted, 'death' came from the sky. A large flying craft hovered over the tall buildings around them. The slick black machinery whirled over head, making the fog part so the large yellow star painted on the bottom was seen. But then a hatch opened, splitting that star in two as the door opened and released the hold inside: a mountain of black bags. Hawkins eyes opened wide at the scene while beside him, Apoo jumped back, his jaw dropping in shock. And Killer and Kidd stood like statues as Gabriella shuffled closer to Kidd, flinching at the crunching sound of bones each coming from bag when it hit the ground.

"_**Litterers!**_" Luffy shouted at the flying craft, shaking his fist up at the hunk of machinery. "_**Don't drop all your trash bags in the street!**_"

"Those aren't trash bags, Straw Hat," Law casually said. "They're body bags."

Luffy scrunched his nose in disgust, sticking out his tongue and leaned away from the bag pile and then pinched his nose. "Icky," he muttered with a nasally tone

Gabriella clamped a hand over her mouth and she moved even closer to Kidd, clinging to his mechanical arm. "That's gross…" she gagged, coughing at the smell.

"It'll be fine," Kidd told her calmly and then turned to Hawkins, glancing at him questionable from the corner of his eyes. "Is this part of that evil thing you were talking about?"

Hawkins shook his head slowly, unsure. "I… Don't know…" he answered softly. "I feel as if something powerful is confusing my fortunes so it leads me to another path. It's strange and I don't like it. I would like to investigate further into this."

Luffy perked up when he heard the fortune teller say that. "Hey! Hey! I wanna know why zombies—"

"_Not_ zombies, Straw Hat," Law interrupted, annoyed.

He was ignored. "—are walking around! So let's team up! We are investigating this, too! Oh! Wait, wait, wait," Luffy too back his words, but an even bigger grin on his lips. "I have an even _better_ idea!" and he sprung from his seat on the ground and started to jump up and down frantically with glee. "_You all should join an alliance with me and Law! It'll be super fun!_"

Law slapped the heel of his palm to his forehead, annoyed, and he grumbled curses under his breath.

Everyone else stared at the rubber captain.

Kidd couldn't believe his ears; did Straw Hat Luffy _really_ want to team up? No way, not going to happen, but sadly, Killer beat him to the punchline, and the punchline hit Kidd in the gut not Straw Hat.

"Sounds like a good idea," the masked blonde responded to the rubber captain, making Luffy grin brightly.

Kidd, on the other hand, frowned deeply and roughly grabbed his first mate by the arm and dragged him off to the side, and the others in his group followed suit. When at of ear shot of Trafalgar and Straw Hat, Kidd snarled at his first mate and harshly asked: "Are you fuckin' insane?"

"No," Killer shortly answered.

"Then why the fuck are you saying we should join an alliance with those clowns?" Kidd snapped, the thought of… Teaming up with Trafalgar again left a bitter taste in his mouth. "I already have to deal with this fucked up creep," and he jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards Apoo.

"Hey!" Apoo shouted in offense. "That's rude, you brute! Gabriella, your man is being a brute again."

"Shuddup!" Kidd barked, but then a gentle tug to his arm made him look down at his summoner mage, her eyes saying: _play nice_. Kidd ultimately ignored it. "I'm not gonna join forces with those two; Trafalgar's a fuckin' creep that works for the Government, remember, and Straw Hat's just a kid with a dream of being King, which he won't."

"_I will_," Kidd, Hawkins and Apoo said in unison, which made them all glare darkly at each other.

Killer, sensing that their alliance was going to crumble to bits over a two word sentence, stepped in quickly to defuse the bomb. "Look," he started to explain to the over heated captains. "I saw Straw Hat's power and it's like nothing from two years ago. He may be fucking crazy to the point where he should be locked up in a mental ward for it with Trafalgar, but having that power on our side would really help, especially since we all got Big Mom on our bad sides, remember."

Kidd smirked at the memory. "That was a good day."

Apoo nodded, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "A fine day to celebrate our alliance day; it won't be forgotten."

"Nor by Big Mom," Hawkins grimly reminded.

Apoo and Kidd stared at the fortune teller.

"Why'd you have to ruin the moment?"

"Yeah, that wasn't very nice, Hawkins."

"It's only the truth," Hawkins replied calmly as he continued to shuffle his cards.

"Okay, enough!" Killer snapped when he saw an argument rising up. "As I was saying, we need more fire power when the day comes that we go after Big Mom and I think Straw Hat, maybe even Trafalgar, would be a good help."

"No way," Kidd stubbornly refused. "There's no way I'm going to; they are fools."

"_Straw Hat! Don't pick through those bags!_"

The group looked towards the doctor and rubber captains, seeing that Luffy was crouched down in front of the pile of body bags, poking it experimentally with a thoughtful look like it was nothing more than pillows.

Kidd then sent Killer an _I-told-you-so_ look.

"Everyone has their flaws," Killer countered in defense.

"_Zoro! That's where you snuck off to you little sneak!_"

The group looked back to the pair off by the pile of body bags, seeing the Straw Hat crew's local swordsman and also first mate emerge from the body bags quickly, gasping for air.

Kidd sent Killer that _I-told-you-so-again_ look.

"…" Killer paused, thinking of something. "Let's take a vote then."

Kidd rolled his eyes. "I say and big fat fuckin' no."

"I have to agree with Kidd on this one," Apoo replied. "Surprisingly."

"Hmm," Hawkins hummed and went to his cards. "There is a greater chance we will achieve our goals with Straw Hat and Trafalgar on our side. I will agree with Killer."

"So that's two versus two," Killer huffed. "We need a tie breaker," and he looked to Gabriella.

Kidd's eyes opened wide. "Don't you—"

"What do you think?" Killer asked the summoner mage.

"I think we should team up," she answered with a smile. "It'll be fun, dontcha think, Kidd?"

"No," he grumbled, looking away from the group with a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. "But if Gabriella thinks it'll be fine then I'm okay with it," he mumbled under his breath.

Apoo shook his head, disappointingly. "Whipped," was all he said.

Kidd looked ready to explode, but Killer cut in. "Okay, we have come to an agreement, so let's go tell them," but when the masked blonde looked over, he saw that two other captains and first mate were on the move. "Where the hell are they going now?"

* * *

><p>Chamberlain stood quietly with Heat by his side and Kilran on his other, all of them watching the scene. They knew they were being watched because they could see the watchee. Seriously, the watchee was in plain sight, staring at them stare at him. The watchee looked to be a young teen, no older than thirteen judging by his height. The teen stood there in the shadows, hood pulled over his head and mask covering his face. Then suddenly, the teen dashed off in the dark, disappearing from sight.<p>

Chamberlain glanced at Heat, and Heat did the same, and then the looked back to the alley.

"That was strange," Heat commented.

"Indeed," Chamberlain agreed. "Wonder what is was about."

"Who knows," Heat shrugged. "We'll find out sooner or later."

"Indeed," Chamberlain repeated.

"Doubt we'll want to be apart of it though," Heat added.

"Indeed," Chamberlain said for the third time, sighing in defeat.

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>


	92. Chapter 89: Rat's Disease

It's finals week. I am deader than a dead man. T.T

Volleys-chan: Kidd has been whipped to oblivion.

Alpenwolf: The strangeness will continue.

Shiningheart of Thunderclan: Actually, Apoo has more fun with it than Law, Kidd could always lash back that Law is whipped, too. But Kidd is definitely MORE whipped than Law. That is and OoC fact.

AliceLaw: I like Kidd's embarrassed side, too, but I can't use it often due to the OoC factor, plus its a fun little treat to write. :)

zdenkac09: No, it's not.

LoveChocolateAndRock'nRoll: Hmm, and what type of music would they play? I feel a conflict of interest since Apoo seems like a techno guy, Hawkins a classical man, and Kidd, a scream bastard. Killer...oh how I pity you, but it's okay, you have Gabs to **whip** Kidd into shape, lol.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Kidd doesn't like the idea now, but in the future he will, eh, be more tolerant of it. I think _like_ is too strong of a word.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 89: Rat's Disease<p>

"You're lost again."

"Shut up! I was in a damn flying machine! I didn't see which way I went!"

Gabriella watched the scene with much humor as she saw the Straw Hat pirates arguing over something as simple as directions. Granted, it was true that the swordsman had no idea where he was going, yet he used the excuse that he couldn't find it due to the flying craft he was caught in. "But," Gabriella spoke up with a small smile when she saw the conflict, and she couldn't help but tease. "Didn't you get there once on foot before?"

Zoro growled, looking away quickly and began shuffling forward blindly while grumbling about how no matter if the hair was orange or red, _those_ type woman were terrible.

Luckily Kidd didn't hear that, mostly because Luffy proudly declared: "He has no sense of direction!" as he marched after his first mate.

"Neither do you, moron!" Zoro countered snippily, veins of rage forming along his brow.

Gabriella merely giggled again and followed after the swordsman and his rubber captain, skipping passed Law as she looked over her shoulder to her own captain and boyfriend. "They're an entertaining pair, aren't they Kidd?"

Kidd grunted, rolling his eyes. "They're _annoying,_" he stressed the word, scowling pointedly at his first mate.

"…" Killer was silent, but then simply said: "Everyone has their flaws."

Gabriella chuckled as she turned back around to following the confused swordsman and his carefree captain. But once her back was facing them all, a devious smile came to her lips, but sweetly, she said: "I can list a couple of your flaws, Kidd."

The chuckling and snickering of Law and Apoo made Kidd growled viciously and then the stomps of his heavy boots followed her as he stormed over. He roughly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her closer, harshly whispering: "Don't make a fool out of my in front of these asses!"

Gabriella's brow rose with amusement and she hummed with a cheeky smile before going on his tippy-toes to give his cheek and quick peck. Kidd blankly blinked for a moment, just staring at her, which made her smile and wink at him before skipping off to catch up to the Straw Hat pirates. Though, when she got there, she noticed that Luffy was eyeing her curious, his gaze telling her he had a question to ask.

"Something on your mind?" she asked the rubber captain.

"You're a new member of Kidd's crew, ain't ya?" He asked in return, inspecting her curiously like a child would when he sees something fascinating behind a glass wall. "I didn't see you last time. What's your name?"

A small smile came to her lips. "It's Roland Gabriella," she answered. "And I'm somewhat a new member. I've been apart of the crew for over two years now."

"Oh~!" Luffy awed, nodding his head thoughtful. "So, do you have any cool powers? Or something?"

"I'm a summoner mage, I control demons and devils by making pacts with them," she told the rubber captain.

Luffy's eyes went wide with stars and his jaw dropped in shock. "_**WHOA!**__That's awesome!_ You should join my crew!"

Gabriella laughed heartily; what a blunt guy. He wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind or what he wanted, even with Kidd right next to her, nearly breathing flames at the proposal from the rubber captain.

"_Oi, oi, Straw Hat!_" The steaming boyfriend of hers barked bitterly to the fawning rubber captain with starry eyes. "She's a member of **my** crew, so don't try to steal her!"

The look of amazement in Luffy's eyes vanished and he looked blankly towards the redhead. "But we're in an alliance now. Can't she come and visit for an adventure or two?" He openly asked with a straight face.

"_No_," Kidd snapped.

Luffy pouted, his cheeks puffing out as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why not?" he huffed; his voice just a grumble under his breath as he looked towards the redhead with annoyance. "Selfish."

Gabriella giggled. "He's being selfish because I'm his girlfriend."

The words seemed to be an absolute shock to Luffy and Zoro. Both of them halted where they stood and stared with a dumbstruck look in their white eyes and jaws dropping almost to the ground. Though, Zoro was in silent shock, Luffy, not so much.

"_**WHAT!**_" Luffy yelled in disbelief. "How can Kidd get a relationship when he looks like _that!_" he bluntly proclaim as he rudely pointed towards the fuming red head.

"That's what I said!" Apoo agreed, laughing wildly at the expression on everyone's face.

Kidd growled and whacked the snickering Apoo upside the head with his metal hand, making the musician hiss dark curses at him, but was ignored by the red head. "_Fuck you,_" Kidd seethed murderously before turning to Luffy. "And what's _that_ suppose to mean, Straw Hat?"

Luffy ignored him and kept his attention on Gabriella. "I have a question," he said with up most seriousness.

Gabriella's brow rose in curiosity, a tiny smirk of the unexpected crawling on her lips. "Yes?"

Luffy then pointed to Kidd, still a blunt straight expression on his face. "Why does he wear lipstick?"

The only thing that moved was the loose clothing on their bodies as a single breeze of wind passed by.

Then Gabriella started to laugh wildly, which caused Luffy and Apoo to laugh as well, even Law chuckled. Kidd though, stood there trembling in rage at the question, the mockery and more. At least Killer and Hawkins remained stoic, or so she thought; inside they could be laughing like crazy.

Though, before Kidd could go on a rampage, Zoro spoke up when the sound of large whirling gears was heard. "What's that?" He asked aloud and then started to run towards the sound further down the alleyway.

Luffy was quick to catch up and Law was the next to follow, and Gabriella would have said something too, but Kidd hooked his mechanical arm around her hip, but the action wasn't out of affection, his metal fingers biting into her skin told her that.

Then he leaned over close to her ear and hissed lowly. "We need to have a talk about this later."

She glanced at Kidd, annoyed. "What's up with you? It's only a little fun; don't get worked up, _geez_."

"_Tch,_" Kid tsked, more irritated than before and he whispered. "I don't like being known for taking mockery."

She looked at him in confusion. "And you're not," was all she said as she escaped from his grip and carried on. Seriously, what was up with him? It's not like his pride was being burned, if it was she would have done something to defend him as her captain. This was only a harmless tease, not even close to being a taunt. Kidd needed to lighten up; he could be so stiff when it came to stuff like this.

Her thoughts were then suddenly stopped when the alley branched out into an open area that looked to be the city's main square, or former square. It was filled with holes that had been dug to dump the bags of corpses to await transportation to the outer bureau as they witnessed the flying machine from before use a claw that appeared from the bottom to cram them inside its metal shell. Though, in the middle of the square where there looked to be a fountain in the past had been replaced with cage that had closely knitted iron bars to keep the million of rats in place and at least a dozen guards dressed in pale military green uniforms and has masks over their faces.

"Heh," Zoro smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Told you I'd find it."

"It reeks here," Gabriella rasped as she came in from behind, covering her mouth to block the stench. But when her eyes landed upon the cage, she squealed like a woman in a kitchen that sees a mouse run over her shoe and then jumps onto a chair. Instead of a chair though, she jumped into Kidd's arm, clinging to his neck desperately with wide eyes. _Oh, shit! It was rats! Vermin, rats_; she _hated_ them with a _burning_ passion!

Kidd, startled at first, braced himself to hold her comfortably. Then he blinked before his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I forgot; she's scared of rats," Apoo brought up.

Luffy perked up at the words and he looked over his shoulder, blinking his eyes. "Weird fear," he blurted out. "Just like A—"

"_Room._"

Before the words were muttered, Luffy's mouth suddenly disappeared, making everyone stare with wide eyes in disbelief.

"W—where—" Zoro stuttered with a twitchy eye. "Where did you put Luffy's mouth Law!"

Law ignored the swordsman and simply grinned like a leisurely Cheshire cat down at the rubber captain, but his eyes gleamed with a dangerous look. "I'd rather you not say such things about my crew aloud, Straw Hat."

Luffy's face moved with frantic animation, his brows furrowed while his nose scrunched up and nostrils were flared. His jaw constantly moved, up with a clean slate where his mouth and lips formerly were; Law could only image the cursed they rubber captain was saying.

Law then grunted. "Just don't talk about that and I'll give it back."

Luffy nodded furiously, a determined look in his eyes, and then with a wave of Law's hand, Luffy's mouth was slapped back on. He said nothing of the bone mage's, but rather roared with all his might. "_**AAAARRRUGGGH!**_"

With a collective gasp, all the guards that were busy attending their duties stopped abruptly and snapped their attention to the pirate group.

Kidd glared at Law, annoyed. "Nice going," he dryly said, still holding the trembling summoner mage.

"I'm not the one that screamed, Mister Eustass."

"Well, you caused the scream," Apoo pointed out, who was as equally annoyed.

Law merely huffed, unconcerned as a small group of armed guards came with rifles in hand.

"_This place is in confinement,_" the leader of the pack said. "_The Rat's Disease is within the area and anyone without authorization from Doctor Handles isn't allowed._"

Then suddenly a second soldier went over to the pack leader, whispering something so softly into his ear that Gabriella couldn't even pick it up. The pack leader stiffened with a small gasp, and his attention turned back to the pirates, the glare over his mask's glasses gleaming viciously as his grip tightened on his slick, shiny new black rifle, a model that had yet to be seen by the public eye. The soldiers then followed their leader's advances, putting all the pirates at gunpoint. This made the pirates all wary; a new weapon means knew power and foe. There was a chance they couldn't—

Then out of the blue, a boy no older than thirteen came from the smog clouded skies, leaping down from a second story window with dagger in hand. In a flurry of deep crimson red, the blade sank into the skull of the pack leader as the boy's feet landed firmly on the soldier's shoulder. Then, the teen leaped away, taking his stained dagger with him.

"_It's the brat!_" A guard roared, taking the new lead as leader and pointed a finger to the lad that landed on the ground by the rat cage. "_Get him before—!_"

But it was too late, the boy kicked the latched holding the cage's door locked and opened it, letting the rats free and in the confusion, the boy dashed into an open sewer pile to escape the sense before he was caught.

And as the sea of rats got closer, Gabriella's grip tightened around Kidd's neck and she screamed bloody murder right into his ear.

* * *

><p>"Gabriella…" Kidd grumpily mumbled, still holding his summoner mage, and even carried the entire way to the harbor where the ship was docked. "Let go of me. The rats are gone."<p>

Gabriella slowly removed her head from the crook of his neck and inspected the area. For a long moment she scanned the grimly port ground until she nodded, deeming that the coast was clear of vermin and she hopped down from her perch in Kidd's arms.

A cough beside him made Kidd glance over, seeing Heat and Chamberlain warily looking between him and the unsightly trio standing with Hawkins and Apoo. Then Heat spoke up. "What's going on?" he asked slowly.

"Killer thought it was a good idea to make and alliance with them," Kidd answered, jerking a thumb over his shoulder to his first mate.

His second mate and navigator's eyes opened wide with shock and they slowly glanced over to watch the rubber captain that was staring up at their ship in awe.

"_**WHOA, KIDD!**_" Straw Hat stared up at the ship with wide eyes that seemed to gleam. "_Your ship is so big; it looks even bigger than Sunny!_"

"Actually, I think they're the same size, Luffy," Zoro pointed out.

"_And you have such a big crew!_" Luffy continued with excitement, ignoring the swordsman completely.

"That's because Kidd has a fleet," Law replied calmly with a smirk.

Luffy gasped in complete delight, his words not even understandable anymore.

"Really?" Zoro said, amused, and a small smirk tugged on the corner of his lips. "That'll help with your plan you told me about, huh?"

Law simply smirked knowingly.

Kidd glared at the hidden meaning; he was out of the loop. If they were in an 'alliance' now, then he was going to need to be kept in the loop. But before he could even ask what the hell was going on, the rest of the band of misfits called the Straw Hats came.

"_Luffy!_" Cat Burglar Nami screeched as she stormed with full intent to hurt her rubber captain. "There you are—" she then stopped, her eyes wide when she saw who he was with and a look of terror flash across her eyes and she jumped back, mumbling curses under her breath.

Then a strange long-nosed character ducked behind the well known Nico Robin in pure terror, and pointed at them with a quivering finger. "L—Luffy, what're you doin' with these scary guys!"

"Oh," Luffy blinked. "We made an alliance."

"_**WHAT!**_" Nami and the long-nosed man shrieked in unison.

But before they could even get another word in, the sudden appearance of a love struck blonde man was all up in Gabriella's face, making a very upset Kidd, especially when her hand was seized and kissed. _Fuck no_. That did not happen, no matter if Kidd was or wasn't there; just **no**.

"I have waited long and hard to finally meet you in person," the blonde said with passion as he got down on one knee, acting like he was going to serenade her, or propose; both didn't please Kidd and he started to tremble with rage. But it was entirely ignored, and the blonde continued. "I have heard that your beauty rivals even Boa Hancock, most beautiful woman! And now that I see you here before me, I know it is fact that you are among the beautiful women such as Hancock-sama, Nami-swan, Ameria-chan, Vivi-sama, Robin-chwan—"

The bead of sweat forming along her cheek vanished when a key word within the list seemed to hit a cord in Gabriella's memory. "Wait, did you say Ameria?" she asked slowly. "As in _Manolia_ Ameria?"

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>

This is how I _want_ to feel right now during finals week. Read Bones to see how I _really_ feel.

~...~

"Kidd, Kidd, _Kidd~!_" Gabriella squealed girlishly, slapping him on the arm repeatedly.

Kidd groaned, rolling his eyes as he folded his arms atop the wooden fence and then rested his chin upon them. "What?" He asked boredly, just to humor himself since he new the answer already.

Gabriella jumped up to stand on the bottom beam of the fence and leaned over, a starry look in her golden eyes as she gazed heavenly into the pen. "_Look at all the babies~_"

Kidd sighed deeply, shaking his head lightly. He was the one that got himself tangled up in this mess, anyway. He told her after the stressful finals week that he would take her somewhere, anywhere she wanted to go. He thought she would pick a stupid chick-flick or go out to an outrageously expensive restaurant, but no, it was nothing like that. Gabriella couldn't be normal, no, she just couldn't. She had to go to a petting zoo. Yes, a god damn petting zoo.

"_Awe~_" Gabriella cooed dreamily, leaning over the fence so her the tips of her ginger hair brushed against a head of a goat that curiously walked over. "_Yous is so cwute~! Yesh you are~!_"

Kidd felt extremely lucky that they were the only ones there at the moment.

"Hey, little missy!"

Scratch that, they were not alone, and that made Kidd's cheek beam red with embarrassment; luckily he hid it well thanks to his folded arms.

Gabriella straightened her back, looking around her boyfriend's muscular form and looked to the farmer and owner of the small petting zoo. "Yes?" she asked curiously, the motherly tone in her voice completely gone.

"You can step in to pet them, ya know," the farmer pointed out, opening the gate just a crack so his animals wouldn't flee.

Gabriella's face light up with a large smile and she squealed happily as she hopped down from the fence and then dash into the pen in only two seconds flat.

The farmer blinked at the sight of the speed that he witnessed while he closed the gate to the pen, but then a small chuckle and smile came to his wrinkled, old lips as he strolled over to Kidd. "She's a perky one, ain't she?"

"You have no idea," Kidd sighed, watching his girlfriend crouch down to coddle a baby goat as if she was its mother and not the flustered mama goat beside her trying to nudge the ginger away. Kidd then smirked lightly at the scene. "But I like her this way," which was true. He liked a happy Gabriella versus a stressed Gabriella.

That's why he was happy finals week was over.

~...~

_Ending note: I want to go to a petting zoo. Really bad. There are ducks on my campus and it's spring time, which means DUCKLINGS! I saw a three baby ducklings swimming behind their mama. It's was the cutest fucking this, **ever**. Babies~_


	93. Chapter 90: They Meet At Last

I had a very long weekend, so sorry if the replies are rather weak. So yeah.

Girl-luvs-manga: You'll have to see if they get along, and Kidd is whipped like no tomorrow.

Alpenwolf: Deader is now an official Elielephant word. :D And I actually don't want kids, or even to get married; the closest thing to a baby that I have is my cat, and Justice currently due to events that turned me into a mean mama bear.

Velonica14: You are the 500th review, so you do get the mini, but next weekend is for a Mother's Day mini, so it would be the week after next, unless you have a Mother's Day mini in mind.

LoveChocolateAndRock'nRoll: The link didn't go through... :\ And the teasing of Kidd will only get worse...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Kidd is fun to make fun of; I would love to do it on a daily basis, but that would get boring after awhile.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: How Ameria and Gabs feel about each other will be explained in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 90: They Meet at Last.<p>

"Wait Gabs!" Madeline called, waving a hand to her best friend that had dashed away when she heard that her idol's daughter was on the same island. "There's a shit load of rats here!"

"Damn it, Abbie!" Bedros roared, chasing after both summoner mages. "Don't go on a friggin' island filled with rats, you dummy!"

Killer watched the magic users disappear into the alleyway, their voices fading in the distance. Then he turned to Kidd, surprised that he had yet moved; maybe it was because h"e had violently shoved the heel of his boot to the Black Leg Sanji's nose. "Aren't you going to go after her?"

Kidd blinked away the rage filling his eyes and turned to his first mate, first blankly and then he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "She's a big girl," he said, his heel still digging a hole in the smitten face of the Straw Hat cook. "She can deal with her own shit. Plus I have this alliance crap to deal with," he the growled, shoving his heel even deeper into the pale flesh of the cook, rage filling his eyes once more.

"Captain Eustass," the polite voice of Nico Robin cut into their conversation, and also made Kidd pause his act of assaulting the Straw Hat cook. "I think it would be best to stop doing that to Mister Cook, please," she said with a fair smile.

"No, he can continue," Zoro bluntly said with a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest, to which made Cat Burglar Nami smack him upside the head.

Though, Kidd did listen to the archeologist and removed his heel from the Straw Hat cook's face, rather roughly so Black Leg Sanji flew through the air at least six feet before he made contact with the ground again.

"Now," Robin ignored what happened to the cook and continued on freely. "I feel as if we should discuss this alliance a little bit more. It is rather sudden."

"That's right!" Nami added sternly, hands hooking to her hips, and the action made her bikini covered breasts bounce with a _ba-boing_, and almost all the men stared with red ginger blushes.

Though, before the Cat Burglar could even continue, Sanji who was laying on the ground smitten with hearts in his eyes looked upon the men of the Kidd Pirates with fury flames in his eyes. "_**Shitty bastards!**_" he roared, and with only a few fatal kicks, the Kidd Pirates were down.

Kidd blinked in shock, his eye the twitched with anger. "He plowed down my crew in a matter of seconds," he ground through his teeth, glancing to his first and second mates and also his navigator who all stood there stiffly.

"Don't worry," Nice Robin chuckled lightly. "It's just the affect Nami's breasts have on men. They get weak in the knees," she explained bluntly, which made the Cat Burglar giggle girlishly with a wink while sticking out her tongue.

Kidd just blinked. Personally, he didn't think the Cat Burglar was that great even when he saw her at the Auction House over two years ago. Or, maybe it was just because he thought Gabriella was overall better.

"And," Luffy suddenly spoke up, grin on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The same thing happened to Law's crew."

Law then roughly punched the rubber captain up side the head and snapped: "Shut it."

"_Heh,_" Kidd grunted with a smirk; that made him feel a bit better, but then a nudge to his arm from Killer's elbow told him to get back to the former subject. "The alliance," he started. "Is a good idea, but you guys need to tell us—" he held out his arms towards Hawkins and Apoo. "—what the hell this plan of yours is, Trafalgar."

"Hmph," Law huffed, tapping his nodachi case against his shoulder in the thought. "I'll get to the point," he finally spoke. "Straw Hat and I teamed up to take down Kaido."

Kidd's eyes opened a fraction wider at the blunt statement, even if he had his suspicions from the paper, though his other allies didn't know of this yet, because behind him, he heard Apoo gasp in complete shock while Hawkins remained silent, but Kidd could only imagine the look on his face. "Well," he slowly said. "We are, too. We're after Big Mom."

"Not a surprise," Law replied. "The news is roaring with your fleet taking down her ships one after another."

"**Whoa!**" Luffy then cut in, his eyes filled with stars. "You have a fleet!"

Kidd inched back at the slightly disturbing look on the rubber captain's face. "That… That was already said."

"Oh." Luffy blinked blankly. "I forgot."

The sudden urge to repeatedly hit his head against a brick wall rose in Kidd's gut. "Yeah… Right. Maybe we need to see how an alliance between us three would work before making the rash decision."

"I agree," Law replied dryly.

Luffy grinned brightly and laughed. "Okay!" He brightly said and then dashed between the other two captains. "_Gum-Gum,_" He started and stretched out his arms so the other two captains, and also Usopp, were trapped within. And on a building far away, his hands clung to the roof top's shingles.

"_**L—Luffy!**_" Usopp screeched with fear.

"Fuck," Law grumbled at the scene.

"…" Kidd's eyes opened wide at the situation.

"_**ROCKET!**_"

And in a blink of an eye, the three captains and sharpshooter were gone and the sound of an explosion resonated in the distance.

Apoo laughed wickedly at the misfortune of his fellow ally while others could only stare in disbelief. Though, the first to recover from this sudden state of shock was Zoro, the swordsman saying he would go after his idiot captain before he did anything idiotic because that was a habit of his idiotic captain. That proclamation made Killer step up, saying he would accompany the swordsman since he had absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever. Zoro merely grumbled as he stormed away with Killer following close behind as they disappeared into an alleyway, in the opposite direction of the explosion. Then they reappeared as Killer dragged him in the right direction.

Sweatdrops appeared all around on conscious pirates' heads.

Hawkins then stepped up to the plate, saying he still had that unsettling feeling that something extremely dark and evil was here and was somehow covering it up. Upon hearing that, Robin said that sounded thrilling and wanted to join the fortune teller captain. Sanji had rage filling his only visible eye that Robin was about to go off with a strange of a **man**, and declared he would go as well, all in order to protect his beloved Robin-chwan.

Though, as he walked away, he seemed to have forgotten about a certain navigator all alone.

Nami shifted nervously on her heels as she glanced at the Kidd Pirates second mate and navigator and also Apoo. "…" she said nothing, but her eyes were wide with anxiousness of what was going to happen next.

Heat and Chamberlain blatantly ignored her.

"We should get Doc," Heat told the Kidd Pirate navigator.

"He won't be happy about this whatsoever, you know." Chamberlain brought up as he turned towards their ship to find the doctor.

"Yup," Heat agreed dully, and that was the last thing the Cat Thief heard before they were out of ear shot.

Then it was only Nami and Apoo.

The musical captain plopped down on a spare crate with a heavy sigh, glancing at the nervous looking Straw Hat navigator. "Don't have to worry about me doing anything to you," he replied frankly. "I'm strict about not hurting women. And not for some perverted thing either. Ladies deserve respect, that is what I was taught and I taught that to my crew, which is why they aren't unconscious whatsoever," and he jerked a thumb over his crew of brightly dressed men busy at work, and Nami noted that there were women on Apoo's crew as well.

"I see…" Nami slowly replied, relaxing a bit. "But…what about—"

"Whore?" Apoo finished, and the Cat Burglar nodded. Apoo sighed. "You're not a whore, therefore they won't treat you as such. And neither will I, but…" he trailed off, a mischievous look gleaming in his eyes, and oddly enough Nami didn't find it uncomfortable. "You're called a thief for a good reason, right~!"

Nami blinked blankly for only a second before a devilish smile crossed her lips and beli appeared in her eyes. "What do you have in mind?" she sweetly asked.

Apoo's grin grew wider. "Kidd got a nice treasure stashed up. Split it fifty-fifty, with you charming his crew and me making sure they don't touch you."

Nami chuckled darkly. "Sounds completely fair to me…"

And Apoo chuckled darkly along with her, their faces becoming darkly shadow with bright stars forming in their eyes when they looked upon the Kidd Pirates rising from unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Gabriella heard the shouts of Bedros and Madeline still behind her as she continued to run. Manolia Ameria, the daughter of the Great General, was here on this island, the same island as her. She just couldn't believe it. She wanted to meet her so badly; she had so many questions.<p>

"Gabs!" Madeline finally caught up and almost tackled the summoner mage to the ground. "Stop running!"

"No!" Gabriella screeched, struggling to escape and she was proving well until something was said.

Bedros, annoyed, stated the unnoticeable to the summoner mages due to their mild fight. "There's a rat on your foot, Abbie."

Gabriella froze, her heartbeat pounding in her ears and she mechanically started to look down. There, on the tip of her toe was a big, fat rat with grimy little claws on her foot as the vermin stared up at her with beady red eyes. Then Gabriella screamed bloody murder, her words piercing the air as she panic rose to the extreme. She ripped away from Madeline, knocking her friend to the ground then she kicked the rat from her presence and dropped into the strong arms of Bedros. "_KILL IT!_"

"I'd love to," Bedros replied dully. "But you kicked it to oblivion."

Gabriella calmed down slightly, scanning the area warily. "So…it's gone?" she questioned cautiously.

"Yes," Bedros sighed. "Now get down before I drop you."

Gabriella slowly dropped down to her own two feet and took a quick sweep of the area before going over to Madeline, offering her friend a hand. She was about to apologize for the sudden push, but something caught her eye.

It was a boy dressed in white robes mask over his face. The boy came out of a sewage pipe and he stood there blankly before turning quickly on his heels and back into the darkness.

"Hey…" Bedros started to say curiously. "That's the kid Heat and Chamberlain saw, right?"

"Yeah…" Madeline nodded. "Should we go after him?"

"Yes," Gabriella said. "That's also the kid that brutally murdered a man and set a cage full of rats loose! He needs to be scolded," she huffed in a motherly tone and marched after the boy that fled.

"For the killing or setting rats loose?" Bedros questioned, amused as he followed the summoner mages into sewage pipe.

Gabriella glanced over her shoulder, scowling at the stone devil. "For setting vermin loose in the streets, of course!"

Bedros snickered at the illogical answer and shook his head as he trailed after Gabriella and Madeline. Using her magic, Gabriella created golden orbs to light the way as they searched the tunnels of sewage pipes to find the boy. They found him relatively easy, almost…too easy. He stood beside a large solid metal gate and lever, and he pulled the lever, which opened the gate and a sea of rats came out, but these ones looked experimented on. They were mutants; with larger bodies that sprouted more limbs such as tails and arms.

If Gabriella hated rats in general, then add a mutation, and she was screaming like a motherfucker in the opposite direction.

Madeline and Bedros were quick to follow, not even worrying about to calm down the freaked out Gabriella as they ran to safe their own skin from the army of mutated rats after them. Even when they were sure the rats were no longer following, they continued to run, that is until Gabriella rammed into someone.

Gabriella blinked rapidly, staring into equally confused blue eyes. In her arms was none other than Manolia Ameria, daughter of the Great General.

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><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>


	94. Chapter 91: Culprit

Girl-luvs-manga: What a meeting indeed.

Alpenwolf: Or will he?

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: You can join the Werido Party with me and Miss D! It'll be fun. :3 And Law and Kidd are more alike then what they think. Sorta. ... Okay, not really, but you get my point. :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: I love Luffy's Rocket Gag and trust me, with this alliance, it will never stop. :D

LoveChocolateAndRock'nRoll: I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hope this one if just as awesome. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 91: Culprit<p>

Kilrain was barking loudly, his heavy paws patting against the wooden boards down the hall. The large Irish hound panted with tongue lolled out as he walked into the captain's office where Heat and Chamberlain were looking over a few charts and notes from Jeremy's Big Book of The World. Kilrain instantly went to his master's side and nudged his hand, and the action was returned with a quick pat on the head,

Though, that is not what Kilrain wanted. Granted, he liked he affection, but he wanted his master to see what he saw. So, he grabbed the hem of Chamberlain's shirt and pulled. That got Chamberlain moving, and Heat was quick to follow.

And on deck, Heat looked to Chamberlain, and Chamberlain looked to Heat, then together they turned towards the disrespectful image of their crew giving up their hard earned cash to a very flirtatious Cat Burglar. The men of the Kidd Pirates easily gave up every bill of beli in their pockets with beating hearts in their eye to the large breasted woman. Though if one got too close to her comfort zone, Apoo would step in and shoo them away. It was obvious; the two were working together to not so sneakily steal from the Kidd Pirates treasury.

"This will ruin any alliance when Kidd finds out," Chamberlain bluntly said.

"We should stop them, but..." Heat trailed off, his brow knitted together in small thought.

Chamberlain tilted his head to the side, eyeing the second mate curiously. "Something on your mind?"

"Hmm," Heat hummed then repeated slowly. "We should stop them. But…" he paused, lips pulled in a tight line before he said: "My gut tells me we shouldn't have to."

Chamberlain pondered over the second mate's words, chewing on his lower lip until his narrow eyes opened wide. "Ah, that's right, there's Matt and his plan."

"Oh, right," Heat awed and nodded in agreement. "Who would have thought something like that would actually work."

"Well, it was because he didn't trust the new crewmen in the beginning, remember?" Chamberlain shortly explained.

"Right, right," Heat nodded again. "So, looks like their little plan won't work in the end, huh?"

"Looks like it," Chamberlain agreed with a faint smirk.

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><p>Killer stood in the center of a four way intersecting alleyway, impatiently tapping his foot against the dusty ground. With a low curse under his breath, he kicked a rat that started to sniff his boot and then stiffly crossed arms of the tense muscles of his chest. "This is fucking annoying," he grumbled darkly as he waited, and waited, and waited…and waited—<p>

Then _he_ came back. Oh, Killer was not happy;_ not_ happy whatsoever.

"Huh?" Zoro looked around in confusion, scratching the back of his head. "Didn't we split up?"

"No," Killer snapped, irritated with the swordsman that had a nonexistent sense of direction in the little brain of his. "I took my eye off of you for one minute,_ one fucking minute_ and you get lost! How can _anyone_ do that!"

Zoro scoffed roughly, rolling his only open eye and shook his head at the insult like water on a duck's back. "I didn't get lost," he denied bluntly. "I was chasing after a giant rat because I was hungry. It looked like it'd make a good meal."

Killer was silent, soaking up the information like a damp sponge. "You were going to _eat_ a _rat,_" he repeated dryly. "You know how many diseases rats carry?"

"Don't they die when you cook them?" Zoro asked, unsurely, blinking his eye repeatedly. "Like germs in boiling water?"

Killer was silent again, just staring at the swordsman that stared right back at him. "You… Are stupidly crazy," and he then turned sharply on his heel, finally fed up with the swordsman.

"**Hey!**" Zoro yelled, fuming at the insult, unlike the other one, and he stormed after the masked blonde, but then he was suddenly stopped by a tremor that shook the earth underneath his feet. The swordsman blinked in confusion, looking down at the top of his boots and then he turned to Killer, asking: "What… Was_ that?_"

Killer slowly turned away from the ground and to Zoro. "No idea, but I know it can't be good."

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><p>Sanji had that look of determination burning in his only visible eye as his heel ferociously chipped away at a piece of cave dwelling rock. He may be a chef, but he could also be an artist. "Ta-da!" He finished his masterpiece of a Roman Goddess: his lovely archeologist. "Robin-chwan~!" He swooned adoringly as the beauty passed by.<p>

Yet, Robin merely walked away with a blank smile.

Sanji fell to his hands and knees in a state of depression.

Hawkins looked over his shoulder at the Straw Hat cook, blinking in confusion, and then the fortune teller glanced towards Robin with a slightly raised brow.

Robin merely smiled with a small chuckle. "It's fine. This happens quite often."

"…Alright," Hawkins replied slowly and turned his attention away from the cook and continued walking to try and find the source of that dark aura he felt. It was different than when he was on the deck of his ship… It was weaker. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"These caves are full of history," Robin then suddenly spoke, running her finger tips along the distinct markings in the cave walls. "From the looks of it, they were under water canals that date back four hundred years. The island must have been foggy even back then too. Though, the fog wouldn't raise the ancient peoples' needs to make underground canals. Maybe the island was full of forest life, which made it difficult to travel, so that's why they made the canals. Then when the age of industry it must have been abandoned, yet there is no water… I wonder what happened."

"Washed away," Hawkins grimly replied.

Robin glanced at the fortune teller curiously. "How do you know?"

"The cards tell me so," Hawkins answered as he glanced down at the tarot card in his hand.

"Fortune telling is rather interesting, isn't it?" Robin commented. "Can you predict anything?"

"I can," Hawkins nodded. "But I choose not to. It would ruin the fun of the adventure."

"Fun? Adventure?" Robin mused with a small smirk. "I would think you would want to peer into the future to see if your ship gets swallowed by a Sea King or a large wave washes away your entire crew."

Hawkins stared at her. "Such cynical thoughts for a pretty woman."

Then in two nanoseconds, the image of Robin giggling was gone and Sanji was scowling murderously in his face. "What'd you say?" The cook demanded coldly.

Hawkins did not waver from his stance and merely blinked. He wasn't about to reply about to the fuming cook that invaded his personal space, but even if he did, he wouldn't have gotten anything out due to the whole cavern shaking. Pebbles rained down on their shoulders and heads, and they all looked up with worried expressions; being in unstable caves under a large city was never a good idea.

"What was that?" Sanji asked with concern, and on a side note, he turned to Robin and said he would protect her with his life.

She ignored his side comment and answered his question. "I don't know, but it can't be good."

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><p>The walls crumbled around him, small rocks and brick pieces adding to the pile already on top of him, which made Kidd groan loudly in pain. "<em>Ugh…<em>" he moaned while getting on hands and knees to make the thin rock layer cascade down his sides. Then resting on the back of his heels, he rubbed the sudden sores blooming on his neck, which failed in the end. Because in a flash, more bricks decided to come flying his way as the rubber captain jumped out of the debris pile, unscratched and as happy as he could be.

"_That was __**so**__ much fun!_" Luffy shouted in pure glee, pumping his fists into the air to make dust and pebbles fell from his shoulders.

Law, on the other hand, would beg to differ. The doctor stood up, using his nodachi as a support and then with a dark scowl, he whacked the rubber captain with the thick metal of his nodachi case, making Luffy tumble over with an _oof_. "Sorry," he half heartedly apologized more to the sharpshooter rather than the rubber captain. "But I had to do it," Law calmly continued as he rested his nodachi back in its usual place.

"I would have done the same thing," Usopp grumbled in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest and nodded firmly. Then, he locked eyes with Kidd. The sharpshooter stared blankly for a long minute before his eyes went pure white with fear and he screamed girlishly in terror and then dashed behind Law, using him as a shield.

Law's brows furrowed into a straight line of annoyance at the action, and he emotionlessly said: "Don't make me hit you, too."

"B—B—B—But—!" Usopp stuttered in fear, his knees shaking wildly as he pointed an equally shaking finger towards the redhead. "_It's Eustass Kidd!_"

Law grumbled cruses under his breath, pinching the bridge of this nose. "You act as if this is the first time you've seen him in two years."

Usopp ducked down further behind Law and peeked around the doctor's arm and whispered: "He's scary…"

Law scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I think you are mistaken; Mister Eustass so happens to be a rather large teddy bear or else he wouldn't be able to hold down a relationship with his girlfriend."

A vein of fury snapped within Kidd, making Usopp yelp in fright as the redhead growled like a feral animal and with two large steps forward, Kidd had Trafalgar by the scruff of his shirt within the cold, lifeless fingers of his mechanical hand. And at that moment, the sharpshooter fell to the ground, pretending to play dead. But Kidd's total focus was on the Dark Doctor. "_What'd you fuckin' say?_" Kidd coldly demanded with a murderous look in his amber eyes.

Law, though dangling three feet from the floor, was calm and merely said: "It's the truth."

Kidd's brow twitched frantically as his grip tightened against the thick black fabric. It was true that Kidd lightened up on the murderous violence at times because of Gabriella, but that didn't mean he turned into a fucking _teddy bear_. He still knew the way of violence and he would prove it. He brought his free hand back into a fist, his knuckles turning sheet white as he hissed: "Why you little fucker—"

"_**HEY!**_" The voice of Luffy rang through the area, yet the rubber captain had disappeared from sight. "_**Lookie at this, guys!**_"

Kidd, curious of what the rubber captain either found or caused, dropped the bundle of thick fabric in his fist. Though, before he walked away, he turned to Trafalgar and threatened coldly: "I'll deal with you, I swear to fucking God," and then he walked away and he heard the doctor scoff behind him and also the chattering teeth of the sharpshooter as he was dragged along by Law.

"Look! Look!" Luffy shouted with actually a serious look on his face as he pointed to a set of large double doors.

Law and Kidd's eyes opened wide in shock as Usopp's eyes bulged from their sockets and his jaw hit the floor. Over the two doors was the emblem of the World Government.

"Well shit," Kidd broke the silence and then he looked to Law. "And it's even worse for you, _Shichibukai._"

Law scoffed and rolled his eyes. "After what I have planned I highly doubt I will be a Warlord after the deed is done. Especially since they found out I was working with Straw Hat; you of all people should know how they feel about him."

Kidd glared at the doctor and growled. "Don't treat me like I'm stupid."

"Then don't act stupid," Law coyly replied.

Kidd would have attempted to strangle the doctor, but the sound of obnoxious knocking stopped him.

Luffy wrapped his knuckles against the large doors. "Hello, anyone there?"

"Luffy!" Usopp screeched in pure, terrified shock. "That's the enemy's door! Don't knock on it!"

Kidd glared at the doctor again and scoffed: "You should be treating him like he's stupid because he is."

"Eh," Law crossed his arms ad shrugged. "Maybe."

And when Luffy was done knocking, he then announced. "I'm coming in!" and used unbelievable strength to punch open the door; it was the enemy's door, after all.

"Luffy!" Usopp screamed like a little girl and clung to Luffy's leg in a failed attempt to stop the rubber captain.

Kidd glared the doctor for a third time. "Point proven."

"Point taken," Law sighed with a small shake of his head and he followed after the rubber captain and sharpshooter into the room.

Dark crimson walls greeted them as they walked into what seemed to be the office of a high ranking officer at the World Government base. Bookcases caged the furniture within, and Kidd was mildly curious what his opponent read; it could be a clue to how his known enemy would fight. Walking over to a bookcase, he scanned over the spines and Kidd saw a large array of different medical text titles. The sight made his groan and pinch the bridge of his nose with two of his mechanical fingers. _Great_, another doctor to deal with.

Looking over his shoulder, the first thing Kidd's eyes were drawn to was the rubber captain. Luffy was enthralled with the large glass stained window, his eyes gleaming brightly as he gazed at the colorful pictures of waterways underground. Usopp, though, paid no attention to the stained glass and continued to persuade Luffy to leave before the enemy came, yet it ultimately failed. Then there was Law who stalked to the desk positioned right in front of the large window and the doctor sat in the high back chair as if were his own.

Law searched through files and papers stacked on top of the dark oak surface, flipping through the pages and skimming at an abnormally fast pace. The smirk on his lips was nonchalant, but the look in his grey eyes were fixated on the information. "Interesting…" he hummed in thought as he flipped through the files of patients or other things a doctor would have, such as boring pointless things. Then suddenly, Law's hand slapped down on the table and he pushed away from the deck to stand up from the seat, his eyes opened wide as he stared down at the report.

"What?" Kidd grunted, mildly startled by the doctor's out of the blue reaction.

"These reports…" Law murmured more to himself than the redhead. "…are warnings about Big Mom fighting Kaido over an island."

"What?" Kidd repeated, his tone much more interested with what the doctor found and he briskly walked over to the desk. "I never heard 'bout that in the papers."

"It's recent," Law explained, but then he turned to Luffy. "Straw Hat, get over here. This is important."

Luffy ripped his attention away from the stained glass window and childishly waddled over with Usopp still clinging to his leg. "Wassup?" He asked as placed his hands on the desk and leaned in close to see what the paper said. But then he easily gave up within a nanosecond of trying and looked to Law for more explanation.

"The island Big Mom and Kaido want have something that will benefit things they need for their fleet of personal reasons." Law started to summarize the report. "It's an island that has many factories, perfect to make S.A.D. or, there is a duel use and the factories can be used to create millions of pounds of candy and chocolate."

"Of course," Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes, but then something didn't sit well with him. "Wait, what's S.A.D.?"

"I'll explain that later," Law pushed the question aside for leftovers. "But that's not the biggest part. The Marines want to use these factories for weapon upgrades."

"Hmm," Luffy hummed in deep thought while crossing his arms over his chest and leaning to the side dramatically. Then he sprung back to a normal position. "So, the guy we're after—" he pointed to Law between him and Law. "—is after who Kidd is after?" and he jerked a thumb towards the redhead.

"Yes," Law nodded.

"And the Marines are just annoying pests," Kidd added.

"Like always," Law finished, but then he waved the thought aside. "But that is beside the point. I think we can use this to our advantage."

Kidd's brow rose in curiosity. "How so?"

"You see, Mister Eustass," Law began to explain. "I started to formulate a plan to take down Doflamingo due to personal reasons, and that involved getting him on the bad side of Kaido, his number one customer, so it turned out to be a scheme to take out two birds with one stone. The plan didn't go accordingly due to… A miscalculation," and he looked to Luffy.

The rubber captain snickered gleefully as he placed his hands behind his head and grinned brightly.

"Well, anyway," Law shook his head and continued. "We weren't able to kidnap the key component at Punk Hazard, but I made a new contact that kidnapped him for me and is dealing with Doflamingo and is waiting to contact me when it's time to take down Kaido. But with this new bit of information…"

"You wanna try and add Big Mom into this mess as well," Kidd concluded. "Three birds with one stone."

Law nodded. "Exactly. It's a thirty percent chance for Straw Hat, my contact, and me to take care of Kaido, it goes barely goes up even with our new alliance and Big Mom being added to the list of enemies."

"But," Kidd cut him off. "We pit Kaido and Big Mom against each other—"

"Then it's a foolproof plan," Law returned the favor with a wild smirk. "The Yonko will be pinned against each other through a bit, ah, planned mayhem, they while they fight to the death—"

"We swoop in and then **bam**," Kidd clapped his hands together, a wicked grin on his lips. "We take 'em out when they're weakened from battle!"

"Hmm," Luffy hummed thoughtfully with arms crossed. "I still get to fight them, right Law?" he asked the doctor. "I said I wanted to fight all four of them."

"Yes, Straw Hat," Law sighed. "You will get your chance."

"Then I like this plan!" Luffy declared happily.

"I—I—I d—do—don't—" Usopp stuttered from his spot crouched in the corner; when he got there, no one knew or cared, which was why he was ignored.

"This might actually work, Trafalgar," Kidd nodded, slightly impressed with the doctor.

"It's better than thirty percent, that's for sure," Law said. "Now I just need to get in touch with my contact—"

"Now, now, Doctor Trafalgar," a new voice added to the mix, making all the pirate captains become alert and Usopp shriek in terror and dash from his corner to behind Luffy. "Plotting with the enemy? Why, the World Government is very upset with you."

They all whipped around to the doorway, seeing a tall, lanky man with slicked back violet hair that looked greasy in the candle light from the chandler above their heads. The man leaned against the giant doorway, a hand deep in the pocket of his medical coat as the other pushed the bridge of his round glasses higher on his nose.

Kidd scowled at the man standing in the open doorway. "And who the hell are you?"

"Doctor Handles," Law answered grimly for the man. "And I think my scheming to take down the Yonko it better than what you're doing with human experimentation. Littering with your failed experiments is probably against the moral code of the world, so how would the people feel about hearing that?"

Doctor Handles chuckled darkly and merely said: "Good thing the world will never find out," and the with a snap of his pale fingers, the pounding giant feet against the fragile floor. Handles smirked widely to flash a smug, pearly white smile. "Subject 97, 98; take care of the trash, would you please?"

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><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>

**Mini for Mother's Day**

~...~

Caden sprang from his bed when his alarm clock went off Sunday morning and raced out of his room. It was Mother's Day and he wanted to do something special for his mommy on this special day just for her. He needed his dad's help, but he didn't know if he would get it. The other night, his mom and dad had gotten into a heated argument, which ended up with his dad sleeping on the couch.

Despite that all, Caden was determined to get his dad to help him make breakfast in bed for mom. "Dad," the seven-year-old shoulder his dad's large bare shoulder to try and stir him from sleep, but his dad would not budge. "Dad!" Caden hissed and grabbed a fist full of vibrant red hair in his hand and then pulled.

His dad growled and pushed him away.

Caden stumbled backward almost falling over, but he stood firm and would not give up. "Dad~!" he whined, going to the other end of the couch to try and pull the thin blanket covering his dad's muscular form. "Get up! It's Mother Day, damnit!"

His dad's reaction was kicking him in the stomach.

"Oof!" Caden went back, landing on his rump. He grumbled and cursed under his breath as he rubbed his sores. "Fine asshole, I'll make toast. At least I know how to use the toaster."

And that is what Caden did. He pulled a chair from the dining room table and put it in front of the counter so he could reach the toaster and made his mom two slices of toast. Though, the smell food drew his dad to consciousness and the lumbering brute stomped over, grumbled the word brat, because Caden had insulted him indirectly and then stole one of the pieces of toast meant of mom.

"Jerk!" Caden yelled as his dad walked out the garage door and slammed it behind him.

Caden huffed at his dad's poor attitude, but cast it aside for another time. He still had another slice of toast for his mom and by darn it he was going to give it to her before someone else ate it. He went to her room quickly, opening the door and Hamish at the foot of the bed greeted him with a friendly bark. Though, Caden ignored the family dog and put the plate of toast on the nightstand before trying to scale the high bed his mother was sleeping on. When he reached the top, he saw that she was still asleep. On a normal day, he would jump on the bed to wake up either of his parents, but today was different.

Instead he crawled over to her and gently shook her shoulder. "Mommy? Mommy wake up, it's Mother's Day."

Slowly, his mom cracked open her eyes and moaned lightly, but when her vision became clear, she smiled at her son and kissed him on the cheek.

Caden smiled back and told her: "I made you breakfast in bed. It's right..." he trailed off when he looked over at the nightstand and saw the hideous scene of Hamish leaning over the side of the bed_ eating_ mom's toast. A vein of complete rage bulged from his brow. "HAMISH!" he roared, making the dog scurry away with toast still between his teeth.

Whereas Caden was fuming, his mom was laughing, gathering her son up in her arms and sat him in her lap. "It's the thought that counts, my little baby bear," she said as she stroked his hair.

"But that was the only one left," Caden grumbled with his arms crossed over his chest. "Dad at the other one 'causes he's mad. Stupid brute had to have a fight with you the night before Mother's day."

His mom chuckled lightly, shaking her hair to make her ginger locks sway back and forth. "If there's one thing about out fights, I know he hates them just as much as I do. He will try to fix it just like I would to the same."

And just as she said, his dad came through the door, bearing a perfect Mother's Day gift for his wife: a new puppy. It was a miniature Italian greyhound that shivered in his dad's pale arms, but when give to a gushing Gabriella, the pup settling in nicely. Then Kidd leaned over and kissed his wife upon the cheek while saying. "I'm sorry," and it was returned with kiss on the lips. He smirked and rolled into bed, grunting: "Now let me sleep in my bed; the couch is terrible."

Gabriella laughed and patted his bare shoulder. "See Caden? When it comes down to it, Daddy it a soft teddy bear on the inside."

Kidd grunted, displeased with the comment, but said nothing of it while Caden laughed and rested his head lovingly against his dad large bicep.


	95. Chapter 92: BANG!

GoddessOfNight08: Hammie is only about a year old (weird, I know, he should be two, but I tried to keep my time frame for His Heir and Bones somewhat cannon). We all know that dogs loose the puppy look after a year and then turn into small horse at the end of that year, like my aunt's dog. ANYWAY. You are right, Hamish is no longer a "puppy", but he is referred to one, mostly by Gabriella, because Hamish will always be her first baby, so in her eyes no matter how big or old, he will be a puppy. Hope that explains that... :d Oh! And welcome back. :)

AliceLaw: I think it's getting more interesting because I know where I'm going now, _finally_. ... Err, yeah, anywho. Glad you like the mini. :)

Velonica14: The alliance will never be perfect...and it will grow, and when I say grow, I mean GROW. You will get it in due time. :) And thank you for liking the mini. :)

Alpenwolf: Any Borderlands fans? Well, if there are, you know what I mean when I say: the Subjects are **badass**.

Mugiwara Otome: *sigh* Yeah, I totally made Kidd OoC for his teddy-bear-ism, but hey, at least he gets violent when people label him like that. Gosh, he's so whipped and everyone knows it.

Girl-luvs-manga: Yes indeed.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Matt as the ultimate plan because he's paranoid. :D Oh, Zoro and his directions...he's zigging n' zagging across the storyboard! He's be lost since day one!

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: Of course you can join the cult...I mean, club! :D We don't do anything bad...just dance at raves in graveyards with Crazy Sane. He'll protect us from the man! No, just kidding, we have book clubs on One Piece and talk about the hunks of the OP. ;)

Guest: Thank you, and I would start Bones first util chapter 8 when Kidd comes in and then start on 9 and go back and forth between the two.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Hmm, it was a little of both. And you should be very worried. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 92: <strong>BANG!<strong>

Killer stared in front of him.

Killer then looked to the left.

And then to the right.

Killer looked over his shoulder.

Hell, Killer even looked _under_ his god damn foot.

And still, he lost Zoro.

For the _twentieth_ time.

In_ five_ minutes.

Killer had had enough.

"Fuck him," Killer grumbled under his breath as he stormed away.

He felt like a babysitter, seriously. Daniel wasn't this bad and he was actually a kid. It was ridiculous that in the span of five fucking minutes, Killer had to look for him twenty times. It was a waste of time and he was sick of wandering off the path to find his captain to find a swordsman with no sense of direction whatsoever.

"He's a man and can handle himself," Killer concluded, justifying his decision to somewhat abandon the swordsman. "It's his own damn fault anyway for getting lost."

Nodding to himself that it was a-okay, Killer went off on his own to find his captain before something unbelievable bad or stupid happened. Or both. It would probably, most likely, be both, but Killer could never guess with _those_ three together. Luffy: a mild idiot that doesn't know anything outside his little world, yet powerfully strong when he didn't fool around. Law: a smug smartass that could rub anyone with authority the wrong way, yet had a PhD to prove he was _smart_. Kidd: a violently stubborn head strong fool, yet he was misunderstood as a dumb brute when it was the exact opposite.

Killer knew that first hand. Kidd didn't get enough credit for being smart, or even cautious. True, Kidd did come off that way on the surface, but that was because of rage. When Kidd was angry, he saw red. But in the right circumstances and situation, Kidd could think with a clear mind and see all the pros and cons along with cause and effects.

That…just hadn't been seen in awhile due to the fact that Kidd, well, fell in love. Killer noticed he had more rage moments than not. Sometimes it was for the good, other times, not so much. Though, everything worked out in the end by some feat of miracle. So, Killer had yet a reason to truly complain, which meant he didn't fret about trivial things.

Though, he did worry about that stupid and dangerous thing that would happen in the future…which got his butt into gear and he began to, finally, work his way to the tower the captains and sharpshooter crashed into.

At the tower, he saw it was heavily guarded by soldiers wearing matching uniforms to the ones the found in the town square. They were patrolling in large numbers, which was nothing that he couldn't handle. Yet, he didn't want to cause too much trouble before he was reunited with his captain.

He camped out in the shadows, watching the groups of armed men pass by one by one until there was a break. Killer noticed it instantly, but to make sure, he waited once more and there was the long string of patrols and then there was that break once more.

Perfect.

At high speed, he darted from his hiding spot and went to the wall, hand on the brick stone and he started to move slowly in the direction the last patrol went. He could not linger and wait because the first patrol was coming soon. Plus, there had to be some door he could sneak into…

The soft shuffle of his feet along the dusty road was the only sound in his ears that is until he heard whistling. It was faint, but slowly got louder and louder, the tune more distinct. It was only a single guard standing watch, whistling away a tune as he shifted back and forth on his heels with rifle as a secondary support. Strange that there was only one man, yet another patrol would be passing by in only a matter of minutes, which didn't leave Killer much time.

"I only have one shot at this," he reminded himself as he pulled a blade out and if clicked to his gauntlet. "Gotta make it count or else I'll have an army to fight…"

And that would be troublesome.

* * *

><p>"You shitty swordsman! What are you doing here!"<p>

"I don't know! Leave me alone you bastard cook!"

"You got lost, didn't you! Worthless piece of shit!"

"No you're the worthless piece of shit, pervert cook!"

Hawkins blinked in confusion as he watched the cook and the newly arrived swordsman bicker like mere children; it vaguely reminded him of Kidd and Apoo. No matter; he cast the trivial thought aside and turned to Robin. "Do they do this often?"

"Quite," Robin chuckled with a smirk.

Hawkins sighed and shook his head; these two men were a bother.

Zoro then stuck out his hand in front of the cook's face and said: "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"What are you? Five?" Sanji snapped.

"No you are!" Zoro snapped bitterly, ignoring his former comment as he stormed off further into the caves. "I'm leaving."

The cook, archeologist and fortune teller all watched the swordsman then exchanged glances. Zoro was obviously going the wrong way. Though, before anyone of them could point this out to the swordsman, Zoro stopped and then swiftly turned around, grumbling under his breath as he stomped away in the right direction.

"Good job, Zoro," Robin clapped her hands with a gentle smile and chuckle. "Your reaction time is getting better."

"Nice job," Sanji gave the swordsman a thumbs up. "But you're still a shithead."

"Shut up," Zoro then swiftly turned to face them again, his face red with rage and he then started to storm off further into the cave. "_I'm leaving!_" He shouted at them again as he started to leave, but then his eyes opened wide. He groaned and rolled his eyes as he shuffled back around again to leave the cave.

"This is why you're still a shithead!" Sanji called out after him.

"**Shuddup!**" Zoro barked, yet he made attempt to face the cook again.

Hawkins blinked slowly at that hold altercation then he sighed and shook his head. "That was a waste of time," he murmured. "But, shall we carry on?" He asked Robin hold out an arm with bent elbow for her.

Robin smiled lightly and placed her hand in the crook of his arm. "Indeed."

Like a bloodhound on the hunt, Sanji ripped his attention from the swordsman that began to disappear into the shadows and faced the pair. He rushed over, breathing down a calm and unthreatened Hawkins's neck and darkly hissed: "_What do you think you're doing?_"

* * *

><p>Killer was in the worst mood possible. Sure, he got a kill in, plus a few more, but now the guards were on alert because he didn't have time to hide the bodies and all. He could hear the faint alarms in the background as he traveled deeper into the fortress of the tower because most of the army was high above him.<p>

**BANG!**

The sound actually startled him, yet he did not jump. He froze in place as he continued to hear the distinct sound of an armored fist to heavy metal.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Curious, and at the same time wary, Killer took cautious steps one at a time, the pounding getting louder and louder with each one he took. Then finally he heard the roaring of a mad man that reverted into a wild beast behind a locked cage door. Then, he saw the surprising appearance of a Straw Haw and Heart Pirate standing before the large door that looked ready to give way to the brutal impacts from the other side.

**BANG! BANG!**

Bepo was the first to notice him, the polar bear stiffening from the sense of his presence down the hall. The bear whipped his head around, ears and nose twitching alike. There was a look of confusion in his beady black eyes; he looked conflicted on whether the masked blonde was friend or foe. They must not know about the last minute and rather new alliance.

**BANG! BANG!**

Franky then noticed him, grunting in shock as he saw the masked blonde. He moved a large mechanical hand close to his head and then from the palm came a smaller, normal sized one that pushed the dark shades covering his eyes to his forehead. "What're you doing here?" He questioned the masked blonde warily.

**BANG!**

There was no reason to lie to these people; they were, err, somewhat a team now, after all. "I'm looking for my captain—" then he looked to the polar bear. "—your captain—" then the cyborg. "—your captain and long nosed crewmate."

**BANG!**

"Really?" Franky mumbled, using the smaller hand within the large one to rub his chin. "How'd they get in the tower?"

**BANG!**

"Straw Hat shot them up there," Killer answered, pointing up with a finger.

**BANG!**

Franky groaned, slapping the large hand to his head so the little one clicked back in. "Leave it to that idiot to slingshot everyone into danger."

**BANG!**

Bepo sighed with head hung low. "I hope Captain's okay…"

**BANG!**

"They should be fine," Killer waved it aside casually. "Though, Zoro and I tried to go after them, but…"

**BANG!**

"He got lost, didn't he," Frankly bluntly said.

**BANG!**

"Twenty times," Killer replied.

**BANG!**

Franky sighed and shook his head, looking rather disappointed, yet unsurprised.

Bepo, though, eyed the masked blonde curiously. "Why are you with Zoro, anyway? I didn't pin you as the type to willingly team up with a rival…"

**BANG! BANG!**

"I think you are confusing me with Kidd," Killer dully said. "I know there are more pros than cons when teaming up with certain people, which is why we are in an alliance now."

Bepo and Franky both gasped wide in shock.

**BANG!**

"Are you serious?" Franky bellowed in disbelief.

**BANG!**

"…" Bepo stood there wide eyed with his jaw hanging low.

"I can't believe," Franky grumbled more to himself than to Killer. "Gone for only a few hours and he goes off making a giant leap into another alliance, one that it already made up of three other powerful crews. Damnit."

**BANG! BANG!**

Killer just stood silent and waited for the pair to soak in the information slowly. Though, found that difficult with the constant banging in the background.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Though, Bepo seemed to pick up on something through all the ruckus and whipped his head towards the far end of the hallway, his ears and nose twitching lightly. There were thick footsteps and then from the shadows came Zoro and a new companion, the one known as the Straw Haw Pet, Chopper.

**BANG!**

The sound startled the small reindeer and he darted behind Zoro, yet when he hid, his position was backwards so his head was hiding behind the swordsman's leg while the rest of his body was still visible.

If Killer didn't have a mask on, his jaw would have fallen to the floor; how'd he get here…?

**BANG!**

"Zoro!" Franky bellowed with a scowl. "Are we really in an alliance with these guys?" and the cyborg pointed towards the masked blonde with a jerk of his thumb.

**BANG!**

Zoro spent a second staring at door, his brows furrowing as he scratched the back of his head with each bang that continued, but then he shook if off and looked towards the cyborg. "Yeah," he replied simply with a nod.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! **

Franky's eyes opened wide and his sunglasses perched on his forehead slipped down to the tip of his nose. Then he opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted violently.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! **

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

**CRRRRR—ACK!**

The door burst into pieces, sending all that were nearby to the opposite side, and from the ruins came the roar of a very furious man that had bloodlust swarming his very core.

* * *

><p><strong>So, there are five chapters left until the 100th published chapter of His Heir. I feel I can't do the same thing with Bones because they isn't a character like Justice in Bones. Soo~, I'm opening the floor to what you guys what to see in a special 100th chapter onetwo-shot. 'Cause, I have no idea what to do. :D**


	96. Chapter 93: Miracle Water

Girl-luvs-manga: Actually, not Kidd. :d

Hitoshirezu Ryu: There is a lot of trouble in this chapter; the epicness continues.

Alpenwolf: Zoro can do a lot of things while lost; he's made many girls happy. :D No wonder Sanji hates him.

Illegal-Pharmacy: Thank you, and that seems like a interesting idea...

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Truly, I love writing Zoro's getting lost issue. He's just all over the place, and it's in character! Best character ever.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 93: Miracle Water<p>

"This is such an interesting place," Robin sighed heavenly, an adoring smile on her lips as she walked alongside Hawkins, hand still gracefully placed in the crook of his arm.

"You treat this as if it's a stroll between lovers in a park, Nico Robin," Hawkins pointed out plainly, not a single shred of emotions in his tone or face.

Though, Robin still chuckled lightly her tiny smile widening with amusement. "This is much more exciting than a park," she replied to the fortune teller, hand waving towards the cave walls.

Small lanterns dotted the walls, wires thick with plastic to protect them from slick water that was covered in the thin layer of water. When they first entered the caves, it was dark and grey with the soft yellow lights of showing the way. But as they got deeper into the unknown, the caves started to get colder, wetter and more natural for a cave setting.

"Hmph," Hawkins grunted softly, glancing around the area and didn't see the beauty that Robin did. "Maybe so, but more dangerous."

"Maybe it is, Mister Hawkins," Robin agreed curtly and rested her head on his shoulder. "But I have you here to protect me at least, correct."

"Quite true," Hawkins nodded shortly with a ghost of a smile. "I could never leave such a pretty woman to defend herself, even if she it perfectly capable of doing it herself. It's just the gentleman's way."

Robin giggled gently, covering her mouth with her finger tips. "Such a nice man than what your name proceeds you, Mister Hawkins."

"There is more than meets the eye, Nico Robin," Hawkins replied smoothly with the faintest smirk on his lips. "You of all people should know that for a fact."

"Quite true, Mister Hawkins," Robin smiled with a nod. "Quite true."

And in the background, Sanji vigorously chewed at the hem of his suit as he trailed behind the pair walking arm and arm. He very so desperately wanted to kick the living shit out of the fortune teller for being too close to his Robin-chwan. He was a lecherous pirate captain, he was sure of it with the way he was acting all gentle and kind to his Robin-chwan, but Sanji swore on his life that he would not allow her to be taken away.

"_**Robin-cwhan~!**_" He finally could not longer hold it in; his eyes burning with blue flames as his entire body roasted with blazing orange fire. "_**I'll protect you!**_"

The pair walking in front of him then stopped, and Robin looked over her shoulder, blinking blankly at the Straw Hat cook. "Oh. I forgot you were here, Sanji."

The flames of his passion were snuffed out instantly by her cold words, and he gasped in complete shock as thunder storms swarmed his person. Clutching his breaking heart, Sanji went to his knees, feeling completely defeated and that his body went to stone.

Hawkins stared at the odd sight. "Will he be alright?" He asked the archeologist.

"I'm sure he will be," Robin smiled without a care in a world, but then something seemed to catch her attention from the corner of her eyes and she looked further down the tunnel. "Such a strange shadow…" she mumbled and started to go towards it with Hawkins at her heels.

Sanji instantly got over his moment of defeat, just as Robin predicted, when he saw the archeologist leave the protect radius he personally set so his Robin-chwan would always be safe. "_ROBIN-CHWAN!_" Sanji yelled as he dashed after her at the speed of light.

Robin ignored the chattering of the cook and merely took in the sight of all the machinery within the room.

The machine was black iron that trembled with power from generators located through the tall cavern. Large and small pipes sprouted from the main piece of machinery and burrowed deep into the cave walls, water dripping the metal cylinders. There was a tiny stream that curved around the cave floor before disappearing into a man-made pool that collected it all. And before the water went into that pool, a drop of black substance dripped into the water from the machinery. The black liquid would swirl around the weak current of the stream before vanishing without a trace. Though the fancy, steam machine and it's mysterious black goo hidden within the caves under the city wasn't what made the archeologist in shock. It was the symbol of the World Government painted in white against the metal sheet of iron of the main piece of machinery.

"Oh dear..." Robin frowned deeply; this was not good.

"Hmm," Hawkins hummed, shuffling his cards quickly and using the straw of his devil fruit powers, he held up the multiple cards and then glanced at the ones he picked out. "The fortune says this is the Death of a Nation."

"Really…" Robin mumbled, inspecting the tiny drip of thick black goo that fell into the small stream of water again and again. "This looks like_ tar_. That would be deadly if it is in a human's drinking water, yet…"

"Yet we can't tell if this is causing harm or not from first glance." Hawkins finished for her. "For all we know, this the black substance could be good, but the cards tell me not, so there is something wrong here."

Sanji then stepped forward, standing beside Robin with hands casual tucked into his pants pockets. "This is a poison, I'm guessing. I'm not an expert compared to Chopper, but this could be the reason why everyone is sick."

"Death of a Nation…" Robin grimly repeated.

Sanji nodded slowly, a deep frown on his lips as he rolled the butt of his cigarette between his teeth. "The World Government wants something here, and they are killing so many innocents just to do it…"

"They have their way of doing the wrong thing to the people they were sworn to protect," Robin tightly replied, her body growing stiff from the memories of her past.

"I feel that there is history involving that," Hawkins politely butted in. "But let's not dwell on the past and focus on the future. Stopping any operation under the World Government is good in both a pirate and civilian's eyes."

Robin smiled faintly and nodded. "Then let's get to work pulling the pipes out from underneath them."

"Heh," Sanji chuckled dryly. "I couldn't have said it any better myself, Robin."

* * *

><p>Killer flew back at the sheer force when the giant doors exploded. Soaring through the air was something he was used to, but not slamming into walls back first. It was rare for an event such as that to accrue, but he wasn't the only one. There were the three distinct bangs as Bepo, Zoro, and Chopper hit the metal wall along with him. The power was intense; it was the same as the feeling back in Shabondy when Ray-san used Haki. The same power was present, yet it felt stronger, or at least there was enough to swipe them off their feet compared to last time.<p>

Though the cyborg was able barely withstand the blast, only skidding back on the balls of his mechanical feet. But then the enraged prisoner on the other side of the doorway leaped from his prison cell filled with giant, industrial chains hanging from the ceiling and laying on the floor. The prisoner yelled, his body rigid with bubbling fury and then charged the cyborg, punching him violently in the cheek.

Franky jerked back at the impact, his sunglasses flying from their perch on his nose to the ground, skipping like a pebble to the little reindeer's hooves. The cyborg stood there, shocked, but it vanished in a flash as Franky roared: "_**Not super!**_" at the top of his lungs, his eyes filled with pure rage.

The enraged prisoner only roared back from behind the mask covering his facial features, though the fury was clear, and it was vivid; his body language said it all. The veins of anger were visible underneath the thick fabric of his robes and his muscles were so tense to the point that he was trembling. The prisoner was like a volcano ready to erupt with all its power, but that didn't faze the cyborg.

Franky charged the prisoner at full force, bringing back a large iron fist with full intents to pound the living day lights out of the man. Though this attempt was snuffed when the prisoner easily grabbed the cyborg's fist with his gauntlet covered hand. A vein of irritation bulged from Franky's forehead, and he tried to punch his enemy with a second fist, yet it was blocked just as quickly. The two wrestled to win, the cyborg half the man's size, yet equal they were in strength.

Zoro jumped to his feet and Killer was quick to follow, weapons at the ready, but Franky would not have allow it. "**Don't even think about it, bros!**" This was his fight, he decided on his own, and he was going to be a man about it and win one on one, even if it took him all day.

Though, the first mates were getting impatient, but Chopper was anxious.

Bepo tried to comfort the little reindeer, since he understood the cyborg's feelings even though he was a bear, but Chopper was still cautious. It wasn't because he was worried about Franky. The reindeer knew the cyborg was capable of defending himself, and his pride, but this had to do with their surroundings: the shaking walls and trembling floor. The area was dangerous, and it would also cause alarm for the guards because they were bound to feel the disturbance, maybe even hear, and they would come running.

So, from his shorts pocket, he pulled out a Rumble ball and plopped it into this mouth, crunching down on it and then swallowed the drug before screeching: "_Jumping Point_," and quickly transformed.

The tiny reindeer's body went from small and stubby to long and lean, his limbs built to leap drastic heights, and against Franky's wishes, Chopper jumped into the fight. The cyborg shouted for him to back off, but the now tall reindeer ignored it completely and leaped behind the prisoner still trembling with rage. Then Chopper jabbed all the right nerves with his hooves, and the prisoner froze, his body snapping stiff and he was pushed back by the cyborg's force and he then crumbled to the floor, breathing heavily.

"**Chopper!**" Franky shouted, boiling with rage. "**Not super! Not super!**"

Chopper waved off his crewmate's anger and transformed back into his tiny self and scurried to the prisoner's side. "I'm sorry for doing that, Sir," the reindeer went into doctor mode. "I just hit a few pressure points to calm you down; it should only last a few more seconds."

The prisoner just groaned, slowly rising into s sitting position with the help of the tiny reindeer pulling on his sleeve. Grumbling a few quiet crushes under his breath as he rubbed the sores on his back. Then with a shake of his masked, hooded head, he finally asked: "Why the hell are you pirates down here?"

"I want the blueprints for the Hover Ship," Franky bluntly said then grunted a small _thanks _to Bepo when the polar bear handed him his sunglasses.

"Why the hell do you want _that?_" The prisoner asked as he got to his feet and patted the dust from his white robs.

"Because I want to improve it," Franky smirked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

The prisoner then stopped his current actions, hands on his knees as he took in the information. Then slowly, he looked up at the cyborg, and no matter if there was a mask or not, there was a blank expression nonetheless. "That's pointless. It's a hunk of junk."

"No its not!" Franky snapped, simmering.

"That's enough," Killer stepped in, trying to keep the peace; for some reason he was used to it because of Kidd, Apoo and Hawkins. Thanks to experience, he was able to defuse the bomb and move along. "You know who we are, but we don't know you," he said to the prisoner, hinting for a name.

The prisoner was silent in a thoughtful mode, but then he sighed and removed his mask and shook his head so his hood slipped off his head. The fives scars running around the man's face and singed blonde hair were the first thing they all noticed, but the man didn't care, he almost look proud of his looks as he spoke. "I'm Ivan, and no matter what the bastard Handles says, I am the King of this island still."

There was silence among the pirates.

"You're… A king?" Bepo slowly repeated.

"I'm_ thee_ King," Ivan corrected sharply. "Just because I left the Reverie doesn't mean I'm not a King anymore."

"Why did you leave the Alliance?" Killer curiously asked.

"I hate the World Government," Ivan bluntly spat.

"Well," Franky snorted. "You don't beat around the bush."

"The World Government is manipulative," Ivan scoffed. "I don't like being treated as a puppet. No wonder the World Government sent Handles here. He loves to make puppets," the king said with sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Puppets?" Chopper blinked his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"He makes puppets out of humans, the people of my kingdom!" Ivan shouted with rage, throwing his head up in the air. "This is the World Government's punishment for leaving their screwy alliance."

"Human puppets!" Chopper screeched, his tiny brows furrowing with rage. "That's unethical!"

"But it is happening, and to my people no less!" Ivan growled, grinding his teeth together. "Handles populated our waters to make my people sick and keep them sick. He promises them that he will help, but he causes accidents and blames them on the rats! Rats that he brought to the island in the first place! He is killing them off to make a super human soldier that will only obey the World Government and I've been trying to stop them for months with my son, but I got captured and my son is missing now. Everything is going downhill and my kingdom and there is little hope yet."

"We'll help!" Chopper cried, a determined look in his eyes.

"_What?_" Killer, Bepo and Franky asked together as they stared at the tiny reindeer.

"This is just like Punk Hazard all over again," Zoro sighed.

Ivan looked between the pirates, a confused looked in his eyes. "Are you sure you want to help? This is the _World Government_ we are talking about."

"Eh," Zoro shrugged, hands deep within his pockets. "Been there, done that. Nothing we can't handle."

Ivan blinked his eyes blankly, but then a pounding of giant feet on the steps came closer to them and a roar pierced the sound barrier. Ivan instantly grew tense as he shifted his stance went into something defensive and he asked: "Have you ever battled a super soldier before?"

"Nope," Zoro replied, unconcerned with smirk as he placed a hand to the hilt of one of his swords. "But it sounds like a challenge, and challenges are always the funnest."

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>

**Note: I was told by my beta that Chopper only needs the Rumble Ball for Monster Point, which I didn't know. Though, I didn't want to change it because I liked that little part with Chopper, but the next time I write Chopper I'll be sure to make it right!**


	97. Chapter 94: 96 Failures

Velonica14: Robin was kinda having a date with Hawkins...Sanji is a third wheel and all. (I actually like Franky/Robin, but I couldn't resist screwing with Sanji because it's super fun.)

AliceLaw: There's going to be a a lot of battles next, and answers, but a lot more battles; fight scenes make me cry. :'D

Girl-luvs-manga: I think Zoro knows what he's doing. :d

Alpenwolf: Robin knows how to shoot down a guy, that's for sure. ;D

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: That is true, but after the two years, he learned to control them all, minus Monster Point, without the Rumble Ball. Don't feel bad, because I didn't notice it either. T.T Sorry, Chopper.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Well, the enemy (Handles) isn't necessarily control them like an actual puppet. He just makes them, drugs them (but there is a different method used with 100) and then follow him. So, he's not that great of a puppeteer. :d

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 94: 96 Failures<p>

"Watch this, Robin-chwan," Sanji said with a coy smirk as he lit up a new cigarette and started to ready himself by twisting the ball of his foot into the smooth mud with the sole of his boot.

Though instead of Robin answering his desperate need to impress the beauty, it was Hawkins that replied, not too impressed with the Straw Hat cook and his… Personal health issues. "We've seen you light up five cigarettes since we've entered the caverns under the city," the fortune teller dully said. "Have you ever heard of lung cancers or smoker's cough?"

"Shuddup, ya' shitty bastard!" Sanji hissed through his teeth, simmering with rage, especially when his lovely Robin-chwan began giggling at the fortune teller's side when she took Hawkins's comment as a humorous joke.

Oh, that made his blood boil; how dare this strange, new man steal his Robin-chwan from right under his nose. He will never forgive the pirate captain Basil Hawkins that had now become his rival for life. And he was going to do anything to win back his beloved archeologist, even if it was the last thing he did.

"I will destroy this entire piece of shit for you, Robin-chwan~!" The cook roared at the top of his 'cancerous' filled lungs as his body was engulfed in flames of determination. He was going to take care of the tar machine with a single swing of his heel and then that stupid, shithead of a fortune teller and win the beautiful princess that was Robin.

With fury literally burning in his heels, Sanji brought his leg around and then at the speed of light, he rammed the first pipe in range. The action made Hawkins sigh, shake his head, and hook an arm around Robin's waist so they could take a large step back. The pipe Sanji hit was filled with fast moving tar that sputtered and sprayed his entire form from head to toe.

The cook wildly flailed around with a high pitched yelp, using his hands to block the tar from entering his mouth. Then finally he stepped back, shaking his head to get rid of the tar trapped in his blonde locks and used his hands to try and wipe it from his suit, but he was failing miserably. He grumbled and growled curses under his breath, blaming the machinery—and the fortune teller—for the misfortune rather than himself. He was going to be stuck like this for a long time since he could just jump in the oasis around in the large cavern since it would cause more of the population to fall ill; and he couldn't even jump in the ocean because that would be just as bad. He doubted Franky would allow him to use the shower because it would clog up the drain and probably destroy the fresh water supplies on Sunny. Damn it.

Then suddenly hands sprouted from his body, the lovely, soft female hands of Robin's devil fruit that helped removed clumps of tar from his suit and hair into buckets with feet underneath that marched over his way. Suddenly, the rage of his anger was gone as a heart pounded in his only visible eye. His Robin-chwan still cared; that made him the happiest man alive.

"That should be enough," Robin told the fortune teller as her devil fruit hands and feet continued their work of cleaning the cook without harming the environment any more.

Hawkins nodded, but moved along to the important task of destroying the tar machine. "I think the best idea is to turn the valves off," the fortune told the archeologist. "Because just attacking the thing won't work, as you see," he looked between Sanji and the still violently leaking broken pipe dripping tar into a bucket that Robin's extra feet and hands had placed there.

"Obviously," Robin giggled lightly. "But now the question is which one turns off them off." She then said frankly, pointing to all the different sized bright red valves on of all different sized pipes. "There could be a master valve hidden in there that turns if all off, or if could be all of them that need to be turned off individually."

"Hmm," Hawkins hummed lightly, rubbing his chin lightly. "I think we should just go at random here."

"Oh?" Robin curiously glanced towards the fortune teller, her thin brow rising slightly. "Why not look at your cards? They could tell you which one it is, correct?"

There was a faint smile on his lips. "That takes the fun out of it, Miss Robin."

"Quite true, Mister Hawkins," Robin replied with a small smirk.

And thus became the odd game between Robin and Hawkins where they tried to figure out which valve was which. Hawkins would point them out, and Robin would use her devil fruit to turn the valves, and it was mildly entertaining because some of the smaller pipes would break due to larger qualities of tar flowing through them. Of course the leaks of tar would only spray on Sanji, but as long as the hands of the archeologist would clean him of it, it was okay. It went on for awhile until there was a sudden click, clang and rumble, the tar turning off entirely.

"Well," Robin clapped her hands together with a smile. "That was fun."

"But too easy," Hawkins warily said. "Way too easy."

"Ah-yuck!" Sanji finally spoke, making the pair look over their shoulders to see the cook lifting his leg to remove the slick pale hand that sprouted from the mud and grabbed his ankle. His expression twisted with disgust and he rammed his heel onto the white, fleshy limb and the hand snaked back with a hiss. "Only Ameria's creations can do that when she accidentally messes up! Ooh~ that face she makes when she messes up is adorable~" and there were hearts in his eyes as he swooned over the memories.

Hawkins stared at the cook in annoyance; this man was worse than Kidd and Apoo combined which was really saying something. "Is he really any help?" he asked as he looked around the ground and walls to see hundreds of hands sprout from the most ground of the caverns. "We have trouble and he's going through a mad case of love struck."

"When he thinks I'm in danger he will snap out of it," Robin reassured, going back to back with the fortune teller and crossed her arms in her usual battle stance.

"What do ya think you're doin'?" Sanji got up and personal with the fortune teller, furious with Hawkins for touching the archeologist rather than the situation of battle right on their heels.

"See?" Robin replied with a sheepish smile.

"It's a terrible sight," Hawkins sighed with a shake of his head.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Sanji snapped, his cigarette fizzling all the way to the butt with rage.

Hawkins used the situation to his advantage. "That you would dare allow a monster to come close to Miss Robin."

Sanji gasped in shock when he saw that there were hands grasping for his Robin-chwan's ankles… And those beady little black eyes of the pale figures looked to be sneaking a peek under her skirt.

**UNFORGIVABLE!**

Though, what Sanji didn't know what these poor pale creatures with numbers tattooed to their chests and the word failure branded to their foreheads were completely blind and used the senses of smell, hearing, and touch to fight enemies. Their sole mission was to protect the tar machine, and when it was turned off, they went into action. But sadly their battle plan did not affect the three pirates.

With a battle roar that shook the cavern, Sanji, literally burst into flames and then went into protector mode. He grabbed the archeologist in his arms—and she commented that it was rather toasty in his grip, which made Hawkins sigh and shake his head—ripping the multiple pale hands on Robin legs away and then he began stomping on them as if it were a twisted game of whack-a-mole, or he was putting out a wildfire of hands and arms.

Hawkins just stared at the scene, the attacks of the pale blind humanoid having no effect on his body whatsoever. From the sleeves of his robe came many straw voodoo dolls, the tiny little things being ripped to shreds when the enemy tried over and over to slash his skin and clothing. The enemy was getting frustrated, the pale creatures growling with viciously. Hawkins may only have a finite amount of voodoo dolls, but he had grown stronger and the amount grew, which meant he was safe from this weaker enemy. Though, he would admit they were terrible pests.

Hawkins watched Sanji continue his tactics while clutching Robin in his arms. The archeologist looked agitated with the cook and she actually used her devil fruit so an elegant arm sprouted from Sanji's shoulder and slapped him.

Sanji was stunned, not in shock but in love, which wasn't surprising when his cheeks turned pink and a heart pounded in his one visible eyes as his hand cupped the handprint. "Oh, Robin-chwan~" he swooned, making the enemy pause and stare at him blankly.

"_Dos Fluer,_" Robin said with an emotionless tone, yet mild glare on her pretty features and all around her, the enemy hand two of her arms sprout from their shoulders. "_Clutch!_" she shouted and the many hands of her devil fruit covered the mouths of the enemy and forced their body backwards, the sound of breaking spines ricocheting off the wall. Then she looked to Sanji, who was still fawning over her. "I know it is very gentleman to protect a lady, but there is still a way to cross, such as carrying me like that."

"Then I shall protect you like a shield, Robin-chwan!" Sanji declared and went back to his former tactics to the massive remaining enemy that surrounded them.

"That isn't working," Hawkins dryly told the cook.

"Then try and do something, bastard!" Sanji snapped.

Robin blinked, rubbing her ears slightly. "I think I can handle myself from now on, Sanji." She had proven that already but taking out a few opponents out by herself successfully.

"Don't worry, Robin-chwan~!" Sanji swooned with a heart in his visible eye towards her. "I can project you perfectly! There's no need to worry!"

"I think there is plenty to worry about," Hawkins scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh yeah," Sanji growled, snapping from his daze to rage almost instantly. "Like what?"

Hawkins simply pointed up. "That abnormal crack that wasn't there five minutes ago."

Sanji and Robin blinked then both looked up, shocked.

"Oh dear," Robin mumbled with a hand over her mouth.

"Well shit," Sanji sighed. "This isn't good."

"Indeed," Hawkins sighed.

* * *

><p>Chamberlain hummed lightly as he looked out at the tower, seeing a pillar of black smoke rise high into the grey foggy sky. "Should we go after them now? I hear battle in the distance."<p>

Heat shrugged, indifferent. "To tell the truth, I'm feeling lazy today."

"Me, too," Chamberlain sighed. "Though, I'm still curious of what's happening out there right now, you know?"

"I am, too," Heat nodded in agreement. "But, I have a feeling we will find out in… Three, two, one."

And after the last number was spoken, a mass of military soldiers carrying the flag of the World Government poured from the alley ways, gleaming black rifles at the ready as the commander roared: "_**Surrender, pirate scum!**_"

Chamberlain sighed, bored. The enemy may have looked different from the usual with black suits with white ties and better weapons, but that didn't make them any stronger. Everyone could see that—minus a certain Cat Burglar that had a mild panic attack as she hid behind Apoo—and everyone got ready for an easy battle.

"And here I thought we could have a break and do absolutely nothing, but wait," he told Heat.

"I know right," Heat sighed deeply as he waved a hand, signaling the men to ready the cannons.

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><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>

**On an exciting note; my baby brother is graduating high school! It was just yesterday he was running around the neighborhood with a Nerf gun on his back and now he's all grown up and joining the military. T^T I'm so proud of that little nugget. **


	98. Chapter 95: The King and 99

**My brain is mentally fried thanks to Bones. That fight scene made my head explode. So, due to lack of strength, this chapter is short. I'm sorry. T.T**

Alpenwolf: I couldn't just let them sit there and wait, now could I. :p

AliceLaw: As I wrote this arc, I unintentionally made Hawkins/Robin. I'm more of a Franky/Robin girl, but Hawkins/Robin is kinda cute, too...

Girl-luvs-manga: It's never their day. I try to make them all suffer the best I can. Muwahaha. :D

Certified Chocoholic: Lol, don't worry about, where you start reviewing doesn't matter to me. ;) And the Marines aren't actually in this arc, it's the World Government, which it different. The Marines work for the World Government, but I see it as pawns, because the WG is evil in my personal opinion.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Sometimes Sanji's tunnel vision is helpful, like when he beat up Justin, other times it's not, like last chapter. xD

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Explosions? Why...who told you that...there's no explosion...no explosions...haha...*walks away*

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 95: The King and 99<p>

Subject 99: a massive beat. It stood taller than Franky, half the size of a full grown giant. It's skin pale like paper with stitch makes exposed everywhere save from its thick thighs covered by the fabric of its pants, the metal contraption on its back and the large, sloppily inked 99 tattoo on its chest.. The beast breathed heavily through it's mouth, showcasing huge, square teeth made for grinding bones into dust. Then it roared, and in a blink of an eyes, lashed out its weapon: an industrial chain.

The floor, a thick layer of cement, splintered like cheap wood when the large chain cracked hard against the thick cement. The group all jumped to dodge the mighty blow, Chopper taking the short end of the stick. The tiny reindeer screeched in terror as his tiny form flew through the air, bracing for impact with the hard floor, but Killer, of all people, leaped to his rescues, cushioning Chopper's fall with his lean, muscular chest. His reasoning: they were in an alliance now; they had each other's backs, of course.

"Thank you…" Chopper sighed in relief, relaxing out in Killer's arms.

"No time to get comfy," Killer quickly told the reindeer and gently tossed him to the ground and then did a barrel roll to avoid they whiplash of the heavy chain that was now targeting him. As he fell out of the tumble, Killer landed in a crouch and whipped out his duel scythes and with a small mechanical click, they attached to his gauntlets.

The enemy had switched his target like fickle bee scouting more pollen, going after the Heart Pirate polar bear. Bepo dodged with precision, side stepping to and fro so the intense air brushed pass his fur to make is sway. The superhuman couldn't land a hit on the polar bear, and it was frustrating the beast, the massive roar that could rupture eardrums indicated that much.

Then Franky came out of the shadows, his guns a blazing as he yelled super rockets at the back of the superhuman. The massive chains were the weapon, and the weapon was attached to a giant mechanical pack strapped to the beast's shoulders. It was a direct hit, but when the smoke cleared, the superhuman was unscratched by the mighty blow.

"Dammit! Not super!" Franky bellowed with grinding teeth. "That didn't leave a mark."

"I'll take care of this," Zoro yawned lazily as he unsheathed a single sword. "One should be enough."

"Don't feel so high, mighty and cocky!" Franky barked. "It's irritating, not super, and might be the death of you for serious this time!"

Zoro just scoffed and held his blade in an offensive position. "It'll take more than an oversized ogre with a chain to take me down," and then the swordsman charged, swift on his feet.

The blade glistened brightly, even with the lack of still lighting since the hanging lamps swayed vigorously back and forth. The hollow black eyes of the superhuman locked onto the shining metal, the barely visible pupils going to the size of a tip to a ballpoint pen. The beast then roared with all its might, hurling its chain towards the swordsman, but Zoro disappeared from the line of sight in a flash. This confused the superhuman when his chain slammed against only solid ground and he didn't see the target to the left of right.

That was because Zoro was in the blind spot, behind the superhuman.

Zoro took a deep breath in, the world feeling slow around him as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and focused on the superhuman. With a swift and strong swing of his blade, he attacked the machinery, the cuts leaving red marks from the sheer speed that made metal burn. Then he dropped to the ground with grace as he sheathed his sword once more, time around him back to normal as the superhuman went to the ground, a giant bloody cut carved into the thick skin.

Franky gasped in astonishment, but then he crossed his arms and scoffed. "I weakened it for you. I'm the super one here."

"Hmph," Zoro merely grunted with a soft scowl.

"I think it doesn't matter who took it down," Killer wisely said. "At least it's dead and that is that," and he started to put his unneeded scythes away.

"Not yet!" The King hollered from behind, placing a harsh hand on the masked blonde's shoulder so he would stop. "We aren't done yet."

The group was confused since they saw the superhuman fall and then produce a pool of blood on the floor. Yet, there was something off in the air, they could sense it, but not feel, save for Chopper. The tiny reindeer had hooves to his mouth as spirals began to swirl in his wide eyes and he wobbled around before tumbling to the ground. Chopper was then picked up by Bepo, the polar bear holding him tightly in his arms as he sniffed the air for a moment and his buttons eyes opened wide.

"Sea Stone…" the polar bear mumbled. "There's Sea Stone in the air."

"So it's true…" King Ivan slowly said, caution heavy in his tone. "Handles really added something like that to his puppets."

Zoro, Franky, and Killer exchanged curious looks before turning to the King, but Ivan was completely focused on the superhuman. The groan of a monster made all heads snap in the same direction, watching the superhuman rise from where he lay, a pale green mist coming from the cuts on its back.

This was turning out to be bad; it was too easy in the first place anyway. The group got into defensive positions unaware of what this monster could do until it charged at lightning speed. It was as if the superhuman went into a berserk phase that made it ten times stronger and ten times fast. The metal machinery was more than just a weapon; it was an agent to keep the beast under control.

Bepo with Chopper in his arms, was the one that got the short end of the stick from the superhuman; he was the one that had to constantly be on the move to avoid being squashed like a bug. The others, well, they tried to combined forces to stop the superhuman, but it proved more difficult than any of them thought. Franky would blaze rockets, bullets, even empty cola bottles at Subject 99 to stop it, but the attack either had no effect or missed entirely. Killer and Zoro tried to use their blades, hell, Zoro pulled out all the stops using all three of his katanas to try and stop the beast, but they only left paper cuts, barely grazing the superhuman that was quick on its feet. Even King Ivan tried to slow down the monster by using his mighty Haki to crush and make outcrops of cement floor to trip the superhuman, but 99 simple smashed them with the sole of his monstrous feet.

"Why—won't—it—leave—us—alone—!" Chopper cried, each word coming out choppily as Bepo continued to huff and puff to avoid the deadly punches of the super human.

"It's because you're a devil fruit user!" King Ivan yelled as he rushed alongside the polar bear. "This is the backup system for the Subjects. They let out Sea Stone and go after devil fruit first!"

And then he punched the ground to make a wall appear, but with a grunt, he rolled away when 99 rammed right through it

"You could have told us that before!" Zoro snapped angrily through his teeth clenched onto the hilt of his sword.

"I didn't think I would see the day it happened!" King Ivan shouted in return. "You should have aimed for the chest and not the back!"

Zoro grumbled curses under his breath.

Killer, just as anger as Zoro, wanted to speak his rage as well, but he had to keep his calm since right now, he was the calmest person in the room right now. Franky was like an angry gorilla, Chopper was crying, Bepo was tired as hell, and Zoro was just grumpy. So, it was left up to Killer to get the information out of King Ivan about the super human.

"How do we stop this thing?" Killer yelled out to the King.

"In this mode? I have no idea!" King Ivan bluntly admitted. "My son and I hadn't gotten that far yet!"

"_Shit_," Killer grumbled; this was turning out badly.

"They attack with Sea Stone chains, are quick, and basically mindless golems that only know about fighting!" King Ivan continued.

Killer pondered over what the King said and then whispered quietly to himself: "_Mindless golems…_" that reminded him of a certain stone golem that he found for a certain giant blue diamond. And the beginning of a plan started to formulate within his brain. "I think I got it," and he smirked widely from behind his mask.

The plan flashed before his mind as the memories flooded back, the masked blonde knew what to do and he needed to do it quick. The superhuman was fully focused on the tiny reindeer, which gave him the duel opportunity to steal Chopper from the polar bear's arms and then dash away. The others shouted out him, bellowing with remarks on what the hell he was doing as Chopper wailed in his arms. There was no time though as the masked blonde continued to run, dodging every blow that came his way.

The others still tried to help slow the best down, but it was pointless, Killer could see that. Subject 99 was just too fast and too strong, which was boding as the worst case scenario if the World Government every put his project into full swing. It wasn't everyday Killer felt like the world's hero, but if he saved his ass along with his crew's in the end, then dammit, he would save the world.

With a leap of pure faith, he clung to the superhuman's shoulder, his heels pressed to the thick muscle of its chest as he waved the sick, teary eyed reindeer back and forth.

Subject 99 took the bait and whirled back a fist to punch the masked blonde, but Killer went through his before. At the last second, he jumped from his perch with Chopper in hand, making the superhuman punch his own shoulder. There was a sickening crack of the bone within shattering to pieces and then the floor gave way under 99's feet and the beast fell straight to its doom.

Then suddenly the unexpected happened. From the crater that was created, an angel flew out, wings a pale peachy and fanning out wide. But, upon closer inspection, Killer saw that it was none other than Nico Robin with wings of hands as she held Black-Leg Sanji by the collar in one hand and the other gripped onto the forearm of Hawkins.

"Robin! Sanji!" Franky bellowed, a smirk on his lips. "Where'd you guys come from!"

"From the caverns underground," the archeologist replied once she landing, dropping the love struck cook so he fell to his knees as a heart pulsed in his visible eye. "And I must say you had perfect timing," she added with a smile. "We were in a bit of a pinch down there. But everything got crushed by the stone, unlikely."

"That means 99 is dead for sure," King Ivan huffed, a ghost of a smile on his cracked lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That was smart thinking on your part, Massacre Machine."

Killer just shrugged as he placed the bewildered reindeer back on the ground. "This happened to me before, sorta."

"Do we even want to know," Zoro sighed with a shake of his head.

"I do," Robin raised her hand with a fair smile. "It sounds interesting."

"Another time, Nico Robin," Killer politely turned her request down. "We are in an alliance now so you will hear the tale for another day. Right now we should see what's going on with the other."

"Valid point," Robin agreed with a nod.

"First we need to destroy the tar machine," King Ivan brought up. "It's poisoning my people."

"The what…?" Zoro blinked slowly.

"There' something else we need to get rid of," Bepo sighed.

"Actually," Robin cut in. "We already turned it off—" then she pointed to Killer. "You destroyed it."

"Eh?" Franky's brow rose. "Why were you near this tar machine in the first place?"

"Oh," Robin blinked and took a step towards Hawkins and grabbed his hand. "I was on a date. Sadly, Sanji was a third wheel."

A mortified expression crossed the cook's face, his eyes wide and his frown hanging low with an open jaw. "Robin-chwan~!" He wailed with tears in his eyes, and the reaction made Zoro burst into laughing, saying not-so-nice things to poor, brokenhearted Sanji, and Hawkins, well, he just stood there.

Killer sighed with a shake of his head; this was such a weird day.

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><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>

**I feel bad about giving you guys another short chapter, so I will give you guys something fun at the end. It's not a mini, but have to heard of iFunny? Well, it's funny and I stay up till 3 in the morning laughing my ass off because of it.**

**Here are some of my favorites:**

**"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? 'Cause it looks like you landed on your face." -iFunny**

**"I don't always walk across your lap, but when I do, I make sure to step on your genitals." -Your Cat**

**"Dear Ladies: If your tired of us guys staring at your boobs, just turn around. We like asses too." -iFunny (Sanji Approves)**

**"Hey you, you're pretty fucking awesome. That is all." -From the passing stranger that handed this card to you randomly**

**"Human Being, definition: a creature who cuts trees, makes paper, and writes 'Save Trees' on the same paper." -iFunny**

**"My smooth dairy product attracts all the gentlemen to the recreational field and they announce "It's superior to thine"." -Shakespeare Lyrics**

**"A(t) the store and asked for 50 condoms. 2 girls behind me started giggling. I turn around and looked them in the eyes and said, "Make it 52"." -Will Ferrel**

**"I welcomed the hedgehog to her new home by trying to eat her. My mom spent an hour plucking quills out of me. :(" -Your sad Dog **

**"I chased the dog around the house because he's scared of me now. LOL." -Your happy Hedgehog**

**"Ever day, thousands of innocent plants are killed by vegetarians. Help end the violence." -iFunny**

**"Soup of the day: the Tears of Our Enemies." -iFunny (Sanji Approves)**

**Okay, last one...**

**"ROSES are red, NUTS are brown, SKIRTS go up, PANTS go down. **

**_Body_ to _body_, _skin_ to _skin_. When it's _stiff_, stick it_ in_. It goes in _dry_, comes out _wet_, ****the _longer_ it is _in_, the _stronger_ it gets. It comes out _dripping_ and _starts_ to _sag_. **

_**OOPS! **_

**It's not what you think. **

**It's a _LIPTON TEABAG!_" -iFunny**

**Raise your hand if after NUTS you started having dirty thoughts.**


	99. Chapter 96: Demon Claw

**I adore Neverwinter Night games. The graphics may be old, but the stories within are amazing forevermore. You will see how much a adore Neverwinter Night games in this chapter, just a heads up. :) I'll explain more at the end of the chapter. :)**

Alpenwolf: You dirty ducky! (Just kidding, darlin', you still a good Deutsch laddie.)

TheLegendOfFangirl: Don't worry, Sane won't die. Genie can't kill him...or can she. O.o

Hitoshirezu Ryu: I think in my little universe... Robin and Hawkins might have a fling... I didn't mean to do it, it just kinda happened.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: (Killer secretly loves fuzzy things), but I didn't tell you that. NONE, I SAID NOTHING, KILLER! (It's true, Madeline told me.)

Girl-luvs-manga: Thank you for liking my story and all its long-i-ness.

**And sorry for an mistakes guys. '-.-**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 96: Demon Claw.<p>

Killer felt uncomfortable in his current position; the arm of the King wrapped around his shoulders as the royal praised him of his deeds against Subject 99.

"The man was amazing, fellas," King Ivan beamed as he told his subjects the tale with much exaggeration. "He did the feat like it was second nature, like he did it ten hundred times before, like it was in his blood to take down the monster! Like it was his destiny to save us! He caused the mad beast to not only dislocate, but also break the entire thing completely, shattering it to pieces so the skin and muscles sagged like old grandma skin!"

It was only one time before that he did this and Killer doubted the bones broke like _that_, but the people of the city were drawn into the story. The influence of alcohol definitely creating the tall tale told by the King that could have rivaled something said by Usopp's. Nonetheless, it was strange to Killer since he had never been praised like this by nobles before; he thought he'd never see the day. He didn't count the Prince of Dogbane since he was sort of a banished rebel that was considered an outlaw to his people for a long time. King Ivan wasn't considered an outlaw to his people whatsoever, and also to the world for that matter; the World Government was just pissed that he left their alliance. So, being looked up to by a King and his subjects was very strange…_very_ strange.

Killer tried to drown out this awkward feeling his was having by scanning the area to occupy his mind. The crews seemed to be getting along better than he thought. He observed the masses and saw they were more or less being civil towards each other; maybe the captains were the only one with a problem. Or, the crews were just filled with good food and fine ale and they didn't feel like fighting yet. Maybe the music also played a factor in the lack of fighting, he knew that music could do that to a person.

Killer noticed that Gabriella of all people was singing; she didn't like to sing unless it was in front of her…err, babies. Or Apoo. Why? Maybe because he was a real musician, Killer wasn't completely sure, but he was sure that it pissed Kidd off to no end.

Maybe that's why the fucking ginger was dragging her off to the outskirts of the party. …Or maybe it's because she totally tackled Bepo to the ground in a fit of love. Either one, Kidd was still mad as hell. Killer was sure of that.

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><p>Kidd slammed his mechanical hand to the wall right beside his summoner mage's head. He leaned in close to her, their nose barely touching; the pose may have looked intimate on the outside, but his expression held pure anger. "You made a fool of me all day," he sneered accusingly in her face.<p>

Gabriella blinked at him for a moment, but then her thin brows furrowed with sizzling annoyance as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Really now?" she scoffed with attitude sharp on her tongue.

"I've been called _whipped_ multiple times today!" Kidd barked, his fist clenched with rage as his metal fingers dug grooves into the thick brick wall. "And I've been getting just as many stares that scream the same thing!"

"It's only teasin', Kidd," Gabriella sighed, tilting her head to the side so it rested against the cool metal plating of his arm. "Don't let it bug you so much; it only makes them do it more."

"It'd be better if they didn't do it at all!" Kidd snapped, his muscles so tense that his body trembled. "Being whipped means you're submissive, and I'm not a submissive son of a bitch!"

Gabriella's eyes narrowed into two dangerous slit so only a glimmer of sharp gold was seen as her body grew tense. "Are you saying _I'm_ submissive?" She inquired tightly. "I think you were looking for the term _equals._"

Kidd let out a dark chuckle through sneering lips at taunted: "Obviously that's not how it is_, babe._"

Gabriella's brows knotted together swiftly just let the fist that made direct contact with his gut. A heavy breath of air rushed past his parted lips as his abdomen curled to dull the pain from the blow, his head hanging low so his chin grazed the skin of his collarbone. Then she grabbed the collar of his shirt with twin fists and pulled him closer so her lips brushed against the shell of his ear.

And she whispered: "Fuck you," and shoved him away to storm off far from his presence.

Kidd ignored her, his body recovering quickly as he straightened to his full height, all six feet and eight inches of it. He just scowled at her retreating back. "Well fuck you, too, babe, fuck you, too," and he stomped off in the other direction.

* * *

><p>In his mind, Kidd didn't do shit. He was pointing out the facts; he was the only one being called whipped and she was called squat. He was taunted and mocked by frienenemies, rivals and his own first mate, his fucking blonde pansy best friend. How is that <em>equal?<em> She was getting the feather while he got the blade of the fucking arrow zooming at their relationship.

Kidd didn't want any apologizes from her, because in truth, she didn't do anything; it was everyone else. All he wanted her to do was to lighten up…dominance within their relationship; at least in public.

Was that too much to ask for?

Apparently it was since Gabriella hadn't spoken to him in a week and spent every night in Madeline's room.

"When will you two make up already," Killer sighed deeply at the helm. "The crew's on edge because of you guys; make up and make out, seriously."

Kidd's grip tightened on the pegs of the wheel and he shot a glare at his first mate.

Killer didn't bat an eyelash at the murderous stare, but the small group of crewmen behind him cringed in fear at the dark aura radiating from their captain and inched away slowly so not to anger the beast any more than he already was. Kidd just scoffed and rolled his eyes to avoid the blank stare from his first mate.

"You know when you're happy the crew's happy," Killer pointed out simply, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "And when you're not everyone's walkin' on eggshells. Fuck, they are even nervous around Gabriella!"

Kidd scoffed again. "What happens between me and Gabriella has nothing to do with the crew; they need to suck it up and act like men."

"Are you blind?" Killer asked rudely and even went so far as to smack Kidd upside the head. "Can't you see this _does_ affect the crew? If it didn't they would just go on their merry way!"

Kidd was simmering now, mostly because Killer had the nerve to hit him. He was about to bark out a few choice words and maybe even hit his fucking blonde pansy of a best friend to get even, but something happened. Scotty, the crew's normal lookout volunteer, was in the crow's nest one second and then the neck he was falling back first to the deck.

"Ow…ow…ow," Scotty flinched wildly, quivering in his boots as the pain rushed from head to toe and back, and clutched whatever knocked him from his perch to his chest. "That's gonna leave a mark in the mornin'…"

"_Scotty!_" Killer called to the lookout, leaning over the railing over the second deck. "You alright?"

"Just _peachy_, Killer!" Scotty groaned as he sat up straight, rubbing his sore back. "Just _peachy!_"

Killer sighed and shook his head before leaping over the railing with grace to see the lookout. The masked blonde inspected the thing in Scotty's arms rather than any injuries, and with a hand he pulled at the chain that was locked around a fat, winged goblin of the sort. It reminded him of Musket, vaguely; it was twice the size of the familiar…and this one looked rather ugly compared to Musket as well, with uneven teeth sticking out to cover it's thick upper lip and pig snot that was constantly moving to take in much oxygen to make the goblin's fat, potbelly move up and down rapidly.

"It looks demonic," someone bluntly pointed out at the front of the crowd circling the lookout and first mate.

"Should we ask Bedros?" another asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder to the stone devil sitting comfortably on the railing.

Bedros looked up from the newspaper and briefly said: "No. Bedros ain't here, please leave a message after the tone. _Beep,_" and he went back to reading.

"Smartass," the second crewman that spoke muttered, to which Bedros flicked him off nonchalantly.

"What about Madeline?" the first asked again. "I think she's in the galley," but a stern glare from Killer told him not to even attempt the idea. "Err…that leaves Gabriella."

"_**GABRIELLA!**_" A few men called together collectively, but then instantly regretted it.

Kidd snapped the pegs off the wheel as he growled at the name of his summoner mage.

As the crew gulped nervously at the dark sight of their captain, Killer only sighed and shook his head. "Someone called the shipwright," he called out. "Kidd broke the wheel…_again,_" and the entire crew was gone in a flash, even Bedros had gotten off his lazy ass; too bad Scotty wasn't so lucky.

Though, the lookout's nerves were slightly calmed due to the fact that Killer was right beside him, and also because the crew didn't make the attempt to actually find the shipwright. They just took the chance to find shelter from the bomb that had a very high chance of exploding when Gabriella walked onto the main deck. She paused briefly when she saw all the heads of the crewmen poking out behind various crates and barrels. Then she shook her head, tossing the thought aside as she walked over to Killer and Scotty curled up in a ball on the floor.

"What's up?" She asked the masked blonde, completely ignoring the dark look boring in the back of her skull from Kidd.

Killer simply held of the fat goblin for her to better see.

"Oh?" She arched a brow with curiosity. "It's a messenger."

"Hmm…" Killer hummed in thought. "Did it bring something with it?"

"Yeah," Gabriella nodded and she took the fat goblin in her arms, its winged back pressed against her back. Then she hugged the large thing, squeezing its potbelly harshly so that the goblin started to hack and cough. Then _pop_, out came a soggy package from the goblin's mouth and landed right atop of Scotty. The lookout cringed when green saliva seeped into the fabric of his shirt.

Killer just stared. "A package," he stated the obvious.

"A package," she repeated and let the winged goblin that shrank from half its size go, but it was still an ugly looking motherfucker. "A messenger is just the demonic version of a pigeon," then she looked down at the package, unfazed by the toxic green goo and picked it up. Then, she turned to Kidd for the first time. "Can I borrow your dagger?" She dully asked, her expression completely blank and her eyes deader than dead, and then a blade at high speed dug into the wood at her toes.

Gabriella's eyes opened wide as the blade made contact and her toes danced back, then she shot a murderous scowl that rivaled Kidd's current expression. There was a collective gasp from the crew as they waited on the edge of their seats to see if the next big war would happen.

But with a scoff and turn of her head, Gabriella broke eye contact with Kidd and scooped up the dagger. "Bastard," was all she said as she opened the box and then flung the blade back. The dagger zipped through the air, aiming right between the eyes of the redhead, but with a spark of purple lightning pulsing from the metal and it seared off course.

The dagger grazed past the tips of his red hair and plunged into the wooden wall behind him, and Kidd didn't flinch one second of that moment. He merely snarled: "Bitch."

The tension was rising and crew was turning purple-faced from the lack of oxygen as they waited.

Gabriella ignored him though and just went to opening the box, which had an interesting item inside. Her fingers curled around a thick chain that had a giant red hand, the crimson skin deep with faded scars and riddled with thick veins, and each finger held a sharp black talons for nail. Gabriella blinked in confusion. "I've no idea what this _thing_ is."

"That's _wonderful,_" Kidd scoffed, rolling his eyes, mocking attitude sharp on his tongue.

Gabriella wasn't at all keen with his tone and threw the empty box at him, which Kidd easily dodged, but the summoner mage was more considered with a piece of paper that fluttered to the deck. "What's this…" she murmured and bent over to pick it up, her eyes opening wide. "Wow, it's from George. Says it's the…Demon Claw?"

"Oh! Master!" Musket spoke up, poking his head out from the tiny bag attached to the summoner mage's hip. "I know about the Demon Claw," the familiar said proudly as he flew from his shelter in magical leather walls and to hold a part of the chain hanging from Gabriella's hand. "The Demon Claw was the former hand of the Arch Devil Mephistopheles. In ancient times, he was defeated by a long forgotten hero, but his hand was severed with a magic blade by a lesser devil sent by Baalzebul before his imprisonment back to the hells. I heard rumors that it was turned into a weapon like this…but I guess it really was true; it's been lost for many centuries so no one knew if it was true or not."

"Then why the hell did George have it?" Killer questioned, dumbfounded.

Gabriella looked down at the note again, biting her lip as she slowly paraphrased: "Apparently my Ohdan had it…and it was locked up in his study, and my little brother got to it when he shouldn't have…"

_Back in the RC..._

He knew he shouldn't have been snooping around in his Ohdan's study, but Vinnie couldn't help it. He was at the young age where he went into placed where he shouldn't, touched things that he shouldn't, and also used things he shouldn't. Like the Demon Claw, he had no idea how to use the darn thing, but with his Ohdan's journal, he was able to figure out what it was at least; Tina was so impressed with him.

But now he couldn't find the damn thing again; it was making him flustered.

"What are you doing, Vincent?"

Vinnie jumped at the sound of his former, full name, knowing exactly who is was considering that was only one person in the world who called him that besides when his family was upset at him. "Oh, um, nothing George. Nothing at all," he replied with a smooth voice, yet the nervous twitch from his brow was sure to give him away…

"I see," the elite summoner mage turning sharply on his heel, and for a split second he thought he got away. "Oh, and if you are looking for the Claw, I sent it to Gabriella."

Vinnie's jaw dropped with disappointment. "_Aww, man!_"

_Back in the New World..._

"That little rascal," Gabriella chuckled lightly, twisting her wrist to the mighty devil's crimson hand twirl in the air beside her. "Well this'll be interesting for me at least."

Killer would agree to that, but there was one question still nagging at the back of his mind. "If it's a devil's hand, why's it called the _Demon_ Claw?"

"Back in the day, demons and devils didn't get along," Musket explained. "Demons were weaker than devils so this is a form of mockery. With Calamity's new age though, devils and demons get along better now, well, the accident ones that she has no control over are a different story…but most of the were taken out due to Copy Cat."

Gabriella grimaced darkly at the name of the devil she hated ever so much, and the devil's hand stopped spinning, going to a standstill just as quickly as her mood changed. Kidd rarely saw that look on her face; he had such a control over her revenge and mission that she made her life's work. She got mad, sad, happy, like a normal person without such a burden on her shoulders that Kidd forgot she had sometimes. That look on her face made him want to embrace, angry at her or not, and tell her it would all be okay.

But the sound of cannon fire made every thought come to a screeching halt.

The crew finally came out from their hiding and rushed to the railing. "_**Shit! It's Big Mom ships!**_"

"Fuck…" Killer cursed, grinding his teeth together at the warning shots from the Yonko's vessels that raged for war. "Trafalgar said not to confront them until we get more details on the plan."

"It wasn't us that looked for them," Kidd said coolly as he walked to the front of the crowd. "They found us."

"But I don't think we have enough ammo to take out five of their ships," Chamberlain pointed out. "If it was only two…maybe three, but even that's cutting it close. Five, though? There's no way."

"I think I can do something," Gabriella spoke up.

"_No,_" Kidd snapped.

She ignored him. "George gave me the basic instructions on this thing," she told them, waving the piece of paper in the air with a smirk.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Heat asked warily.

"I'm a fast learner," she chuckled and placed the piece of paper in Chamberlain's hand and then braced herself as she twirled the chain in hand.

Kidd was about to stop her, but Killer stopped him and sent him a look that said: _she can handle herself_, but Kidd looked back with an, _I don't care_ glare. Though, it was too late in the end, because in a blink of an eye, when Gabriella let the Demon Claw fly, she was gone. The ship swayed violently in the rocking waves caused by the sheer force from when Gabriella left the deck, but just as quick, one of the five ships with Big Mom's flags snapped in half completely.

"Whoa…" someone from behind him breathed out in astonishment as they all watched the second the third and then the fourth ship fall to the hand of an overly large devil's hands.

As the last and final ship fell to the merciless waves of New World, Chamberlain looked down at the paper and noticed a…_small_ revelation. "There was more on the back of this…"

All heads turned to the navigator, faces turning pale and eyes going wide, and it only got worse, when for a slit second, the cold crimson fingers for the Demon Claw latched onto Kidd's mechanical arm.

And then their captain was gone in the blink of an eye.

"_Oh fuck._"

* * *

><p><strong>The Demon Claw was inspired by, well, the Demon Claw from Neverwinter Nights Hordes of the Underdark. I don't know if that's the official name for it since it's been years since I played it, but you all get the point. Also I sorta...changed the owner of the hand to a different devil, who happens to be the boss of the game. I just like that little bit, but this won't be turning into some crossover or something, it was only that little bit and I wanted to give credit where credit was due. ^.^<strong>

**Father's Day Mini**

~...~

Caden sprang from his bed, excited for Father's Day. He has the most perfect gift for his dad and he couldn't wait to give it to him. He didn't care that it was seven a.m. in the morning; he was going to give his dad his present no matter what.

Rushing from his bedroom, Caden's bare feet patted against the hardwood floors as he ran into the kitchen, pulling out his present. The thin box was firmly wrapped with red wrapping paper with a green bow placed upon the top. A bit Christmas-y, but is served it's purpose well. He pulled out the present and then dashed to his parents' room. "Happy Father's Day!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Hamish was the first to response, barking loudly at Caden, and then Ezio was quick to follow, the puppy yapping along with the older dog. His mom woke up to all the noise easily, a smile on her sleepy face as she chuckled lightly, but his dad remained as dead as a doorknob. Gabriella tried to nudge him awake, but Kidd just grunted and pulled the covers over his bare shoulders even more.

Caden was not deterred buy his dad's negative reactions and went to plan B. He scurried further into the room and then climbed the bed. Then hovering over his father, he started to jump up and down. "Get up! Get up! Get up!" He chanted with a grin. "I have a present for you!"

Kidd grumbled curses under his breath and groggily sat up in bed, a dark look in his baggy eyes. He held out his hand. "Give it here," he said.

Caden's smile brightened ten fold and he plopped down in his dad's lap and then handed him the gift. "You'll love it," was all he said.

Kidd just grunted and ripped the paper from the box, and there he blinked at a box of bacon in his hands.

"You said you were tired of bringing home all the bacon," Caden explained. "So I got you some!"

Gabriella roared with laughter and even fell over as she clutched her stomach, and Caden felt he had gotten something wrong, but when he saw his dad chuckle as well, he knew he had gotten the best gift ever.


	100. Chapter 97: Advice

Certified Chocoholic: I'm glad you liked the Father's Day mini. :p And the weakness of the Demon Claw? Well, you have to see. xD

Girl-luvs-manga: Maybe...I don't know?

Velonica14: Kidd and Gabriella will have an unorthodox way of getting over this fight...

Alpenwolf: I felt so fancy using Deutsch instead of German. xD And whoa, they didn't go into another dimension; that's a little too out there even for a magic related piece. At least I think; it would be a hell of a pain to explain that. -.-

bluebelle94: Thank you for liking the mini and also my stories. :)

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Law/Ameria and Kidd/Gabriella have different relationship dynamics... It would be boring if both couples always fought, and my poor little heart couldn't handle it. T.T

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Killer needs to get used to the...nicer attention from others if he wants to stay in an alliance with the Straw Hats~ xD

Narunosuke-Namikaze-Uchiha: So many Georges... O.o And thank you for enjoying the chapter. :)

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: Thank you for liking the mini and chapter. :)

**Sorry for any mistakes that I may have missed.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 97: Advice...<p>

It felt like his mechanical arm was going to be torn from its port. Hell, he was surprised the wires didn't snap in two and his arm then got whisked away by the power of the Demon Claw pulling it. But no, his _entire_ form was dragged through the air at speed he didn't think his body could handle yet did.

The sea flashed before his eyes, and the worst case scenarios ran through his mind, the top on the list of _really-bad-things_ being he fell into the water and sank like a fucking rock. That would have been a pitiful way to go; he always wanted to go out with a bang. Or not dying at all. That was probably the best.

Though, in the blink of an eye, there was a blurry shade of green that only belonged to evergreen trees and the chain guiding the devil's hand jerked him downward. He rammed into the hard ground, the rock splintering like wood beneath his chest. Yet the brutal impact didn't feel as painful as he thought it would against the stone of the island; strangely it felt…soft against his skin.

It took him a few minutes to collect his bearings, and with a loud groan, he peeled his chest from the padded ground. He rubbed his sore temples, but that couldn't cover the entire aches and pains he collected in only a matter of nanoseconds. This would hurt in the morning, the afternoon and the evening for a week, maybe even two.

"Doc's gonna need to get the ice packs ready when I get back…" Kidd grumbled with agony as he tried to shake the Demon Claw from his metal arm, but the thing wouldn't budge. It frustrating when the fingers wouldn't release their hold, but he halted all movement when he heard a soft moan underneath him.

No wonder the ground didn't feel as hard as it should have.

He landed on top of Gabriella.

"_**FUCK!**_" He shouted at the top of his lungs on instinct and he kneeled in front of her, his eyes scanning her body.

He saw that the exposed skin of her collarbone, chest and stomach that held the year old scars were now sporting instant purple bruises that were quickly turning black. And worst of all, her chest was faintly rising and falling, slowing down so rapidly that he thought she would just stop breathing all together.

"_Shit, shit, shit!_" he chanted under his breath as he grabbed her shoulders and gently started to shake her.

But there was no response whatsoever. Sure, he was pissed at her due to all the shit and drama they had yet to resolve, but this is the last thing he'd ever want to do to his girlfriend: squash her with all his weight, god damn it.

"_Wake up, wake up, wake up,_" he started a new chant to stir her from sleep, but still there was nothing.

Then his body froze when he felt a sudden presence from behind and the unforgettable feeling of a barrel press against the back of his head.

"I know everyone has girl issues…but the way you're going about isn't the right way."

"It's not what you think," Kidd didn't feel like he had to explain himself to a stranger, but when a stranger had him at gun point and his girlfriend was literally fading away before his eyes, he decided arguing and fighting was not the best idea. "There was a mistake and we ended up like this," Kidd started to tell the unknown man as he slowly turned to get a glimpse at who the threat was. "I did not do this—"

He stopped.

His jaw went completely slack when he saw the infamous figure before him. Though the man was old with grey long grey hair, his pale skin was covered with muscles from years of fighting and sailing and there was the trademark large, but thin X shaped scar craved into his brow and cheek.

He nonchalantly rolled the cigarette between his teeth as he held the worn rifle firmly in his grip. "Doesn't look like," the man nudged him with the barrel of his rifle.

Kidd gulped, it wasn't everday he gulped at a optentional enemy, but it was a day to gulp when that man was none of than the first mate of the Red Hair Pirates: Benn Beckman

* * *

><p>Gabriella groaned loudly as she slowly sat up, hand on her stomach; she felt like a cannon shot an anvil into her gut.<p>

The Demon claw seemed to be working so well. With merely a flick of her wrist, the devil's hand would fly and the chain followed, going at top speeds. There were fleeting moments when she felt weightless in the air as she used the dangerous weapon. The Demon Claw was so quick that her body didn't have time to fall. Before she felt gravity pulling her down, the hand was already digging through the decks of the Big Mom ships and pulling at the keels so harshly. With such a swift movement, the galleons were forced to split in two, clear in half and fell to the mercy of the waters of the New World.

Though…when she tried to get back, something went wrong; two things, actually.

First, when she aimed for the railing of the ship, but ended up missing and the claw latched onto Kidd's mechanical arm. Second, she didn't know how to snap back the chain to its smaller size; all she could do was extend and pull.

And the extended chain, when pulled, dragged Kidd from his position and he rammed into her and knocked her out cold instantly.

She was awake now, but something felt odd. Looking around the area, she saw that she wasn't in reality anymore…

The world was white and misty, nothing for as far as she could see. Concerned and worried, she stumbled to her feet, still feeling the excruciating pain in her gut. She held her stomach, leaning over to try and dull the pain; it felt like she was having contractions and a baby would pop out soon. Kidd was no longer as hard as a rock, he was as hard as a titanium anvil that weight five tons, especially going at high fucking speeds.

Or she was really pregnant, which she doubted she was.

…

Right?

…

"_You okay there, honey?_" the smooth voice of a southern belle fluttered to her ears.

Gabriella whipped around, though she instantly regretted it when her stomach crapped up terribly and she ended up stumbling almost tipping over.

"_Oh honey…_" the deep southern tone soothed her and she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. "_I know it hurts, hon, but just deal with the pain a little more, 'kay, honey? Good ole' Mortie's takin' care of it all._"

Gabriella's brows furrowed with confusion and she looked to the side, seeing an elf like herself trying to comfort her. The smiling face of the other elf was tan with olive green tribal tattoos decorating the skin of her face and her emerald eyes glistened like gems, but she two feet shorter than Gabriella. Though, just because the elf was shorter than the summoner mage didn't make her any less woman. The tiny elf had a rack, not a large one like the summoner mage, but one that was definitely bigger than Madeline. That bosom of the elf's was squeezed into a tight brown tube-top with matching shorts that were held up by a belt with dagger in sheath.

From first impression, based on appearance, the elf didn't match the sweet southern belle tone.

"Who…are you?" She questioned softly as she slowly stood up to full height.

The woman smiled brightly. "_I'm Lusia, a messenger._"

"A messenger?" she pressed with the questions. "A messenger for whom…?"

"_I told ya, honey,_" Lusia chuckled with a tiny shake of her head, making the short brown locks of her hair sway back and forth. "_Mortie sent me._"

"Who is Mortie?" Gabriella inquired with her brow arched in curiosity.

Lusia let out a short laugh, throwing her head back with a smile. "_Oh honey, by Mortie I mean Mortalitas!_"

Gabriella was silent, letting the information slowly process. "Wait," she held out her hands, finally grasping the situation. "You mean thee Mortalitas? As in, _the God of the Dark Arts, Mortalitas_?"

"_The very one, hon,_" Lusia smirked sweetly as she tittered back and forth on her heels.

"_What does Mortalitas want with me?!_" Gabriella stuttered, she was in hysterics now. "_Does this have something to do with the mission about Copy Cat?_"

"_Not this time around, honey,_" Lusia shook her head. "_He's makin' sure you don't **die.**_"

Gabriella was like a deer in headlights. Then, it sunk in. "**What!**" She screeched. "_What do you mean **die!**_"

"_You think your body could have handled an impact like that, hon?_" Lusia asked skeptically with hands on her hips. "_Mortie was quick to swoop in this time, you're a lucky dame, you know that? The other one actually did get killed and Mortie flipped the table, literally. He flipped a table; he was like—_" and she crouched down and then sprang up, screaming: "_**RAWR!**_" as she moved her arms up wildly. "_**DAMN THE DEVIL! DAMN THAT GENIE! REAPER! GET ME SANE! GET ME SANE!**_"

Gabriella could only stare, dumbfounded. "So…he's healing me?"

"_Yeah, honey,_" Lusia nodded. "_Mortie asked Lucerna for help since he's dealin' with another thing n' she's the healer of the group n' all, but she's a stubborn wench, I tell ya,_" and the messenger wagged her finger. "_She's tellin' him that this is his problem so he deals with it. Rude I tell ya, rude._"

"Then…he's healing me right now?" Gabriella repeated in question form.

"_Mm-hmm,_" Luisa nodded again. "_And I was sent here to keep ya company, honey,_" and she patted Gabriella's cheek lovingly. "_So what do ya wanna do?_"

Gabriella took a tiny step back, eyeing the messenger curiously. "Like what…?"

Luisa smiled cheekily, hands folded behind her back and she swayed back and forth mischievously. "_You know the enchantment called_…_Walk Down Memory Lane?_"

"Of course…" Gabriella answered, unsure of where this was going. "It's the spelled used to help people with trauma caused from experiences in the past and getting over life threatening fears that were formed during childhood."

"_And it can be used for fun~_" Lusia sung happily, looking up and the summoner mage with large, childish eyes.

"How so?" Gabriella question, a wary tone laced in her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't feel like reliving my childhood right now."

"_Well it wouldn't be yours~_" Luisa's grin widened tenfold. "_Hon, it would be your boyfriend's._"

* * *

><p>Kidd felt uncomfortable in his current position, but he stuck through it because this pirate crew was kind enough to have their doctor look over his unconscious girlfriend.<p>

The Red Hair Pirates lived up to the rumors of the grapevine that they were party people. The camp on the forestry island had a relaxing atmosphere as the friendly bunch sat in circles on logs and the ground around a large fire that heated a massive stew boiling with chucks of meat and chopped vegetables. They were friendly fights of a slap upside the head or verbal taunts among the crewmen as they played games of Texas Hold'em and Blackjack; if it were his crew there would probably be a broken nose by now.

Kidd watched them all from his spot sitting on a long alone, a pint of thick, foaming ale in hand. Then, a presence came up from behind him, a friendly one this time as the man bellowed with laughter as his side and slung an arm over the young captain's shoulders.

"Can't believe Luffy made his first alliance only two days after entering the New World!" The infamous Shanks, captain of the Red Hair Pirates laughed, slapping a hand to his knees with a bright grin. "And with the captain that got him out of Marine Ford no less!"

"Leave it to Luffy to get into trouble!" the round man known as Lucky Roo bellowed as he held his exposed stomach with one hand as the other gripped the bone of a meat dripping with grease.

"I'm sure Luffy knew what he's doing," Shanks playfully snapped at his subordinate, a smirk on his lips. "He's smarter than he looks…" then he paused, his eyes lighting up with memories that looked to be fa in the past. "...right?" He looked to Kidd, waiting for an answer to his unsure question since the younger captain was the last to see Luffy.

Kidd stared at the Yonko as if he was crazy. Straw Hat Luffy; smarter than he looked? Well...that was difficult question to answer since it was based all on opinion. And Kidd's opinion of the smartness level with in the noggin that belonged to Straw Hat Luffy? Did Shanks, an apparently old friend of Straw Hat really want to hear Kidd's person opinion. No; no he didn't, but even without words, Shanks knew the answer.

Shanks's small smile fell to a light frown. "He hasn't changed at all since the time he ate the Gum-Gum Fruit on accident because he thought it was a special treat."

Kidd stared at the senior captain blankly; _wow_. Just _wow_, and the only thing he could do was shake his head in disbelief. The stupid meter Kidd pinned on Straw Hat just went up a notch.

The Red Hair Pirates found the conversation to be humorous though, and they laughed as their captain sighed heavily and shook his head, grumbling under his breath that if this keeps up Luffy and him might never meet again.

"I think we should change the subject," Beckman smoothly interjected with a faint smirk on his lips as he shifted in his seat on the ground, leaning back against a rock and he looked to Kidd. "How's your girl?"

"Sleeping," grunted, short, simply and to the point; he may be worried, but he was still mad at her. It was difficult to get rid of the rage stage, especially since he knew she would be okay now. If she wasn't…well, that was another story.

"Then why aren't ya sitting by her side!" Shanks mildly scolded and slapped Kidd upside the head. "If I had a girl like that I'd never leave her side! What's wrong with you, huh?"

Kidd had a tiny ping of a jealousy and angry mixture forming in his gut, but he masked it; he didn't need to be causing trouble with a Yonko. "We aren't exactly on the right foot at the moment." He dully, but truthfully admitted.

"Oh~" Shanks awed with an understanding nod. "Well. I think I can help you with that," and he slung his arm over Kidd's shoulder again, a serious look in his eyes. "Let me give you some advice…"


	101. Chapter 98: Dreaming of Kidd

Girl-luvs-manga: You have to see. :p

arodli91: I wonder if Sane and Shanks would like each other...

mks 12 98: He'll try! :D

Velonica14: Kidd's childhood isn't that bad. :p

Alpenwolf: Hehehe, :p

robin3zoro: It won't be that bad...I think.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Hehe, it's a pretty funny image. Mortie isn't the typical god...I hope it comes across that way. :d

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: It will be an interesting experience for Kidd, that's for sure. :p

Hitoshirezu Ryu: There only a few people that can make Kidd nervous, Benn is one of them. :p

**This was a long chapters and...there might be a few mistakes. T.T I'm sorry. I'll go over it tomorrow. I've had a bad week and it finally caught up to me today and I had a mental break down; I won't say anymore because you don't want to hear that. So, on with the story...**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 98: Dreaming of Kidd.<p>

Kidd, just as the moment he entered the Yonko encampment, felt just as uncomfortable, and now even more awkward since Shanks decided to give him…_advice_, if it could even be called that.

"Trish," Shanks hiccupped with a large, cheeky grin as he drunkenly leaned against Kidd's mechanical arm with red cheeks. "Now Trish, Kidd, was a lovely dame that I met at a bar in Alabasta when we stopped to get some of the island nation's fine wine. When I first saw her, they first thing I noticed was her smile. She had the most beautiful smile in the entire world, bright pearly white teeth that made the angels sing from the heavens. And that smile went right to her eyes and they would twinkle, her crystal blue eyes would shine like the sun on the sweet surface of the sea." He swooned sweetly over his memory, his spine like a limp noodle as his back arched over Kidd's arm awkwardly.

Kidd froze and tilted his body away from the drunk senior captain to try and made distance that was desperately needed. Though, it did not help whatsoever and Kidd found his eyes traveling to Beckman's, and the old first mate just shrugged, indicating that he could do nothing. Kidd then groaned; _god_, this was going to be a long night. He was able to contact Killer via den-den mushi after he found out that Gabriella's condition was getting better and she would be fine after a long rest. The masked blonde had said over the call that they would be there within the late hours of morning.

It was barely midnight now currently.

And Shanks had already told him about twelve loves he had in the past.

_Oh boy_.

"She was such a lovely girl, she had curves like a Greek Goddess," and the senior captain moved his hands through the air as if they were tracing the lines of a woman's hips. "Huh, huh," he nudged Kidd in his side with an elbow.

Kidd just rolled his eyes.

"And I wanted to whisk her away so we could be together forever," Shanks continued his sappy love story. "But she told me no. _No, I tell ya!_ I was blindsided, but in the end it was a good thing she didn't come with me because image if we broke up. Oh, it would have been nasty."

Kidd just blinked at the senior captain. This was probably the worst advice he had ever gotten from anyone; was talking about breakups on the ship a good idea. Absolutely not. Though, he was positive by now that he and Gabriella wouldn't be breaking up. They went through tough shit before and he was sure one way or another they would get through this, too. But…he didn't think this conversation would help the process of making up, _at all_.

Especially since there was one little detail involving each of the stories that the senior captain told him.

Kidd looked over at Benn Beckman once more. "Is this one true?" He asked for the thirteenth time.

"Nope," Beckman shook his head.

"_Hey!_" Shanks shouted, sounding utterly offended by what his first mate said. "I'm just trying to help! Can't an old man help the younger generation or not, huh?"

"Making up woman and putting them in a story won't help anyone," was all Beckman said as he tapped the ash from his cigarette to the side and then placed it between his teeth again.

"Okay, okay," Shanks huffed as he held his hands out in defense. "I'll give 'im some real advice," then he turned to Kidd again. "Who gives a shit that you're whipped?"

Kidd's eyes opened a fraction wider; well that was blunt.

"You see, Kiddo," Shanks started out, his drunk face growing serious for the first time in five hours. "If I were in your shoes, and I had your girlfriend, like seriously, if I were going out with _thee Exotic Scarlet_. I would be screaming at the top of the world: **I'm whipped**. Seriously."

Kidd slowly took in the information; he didn't know if he should be happy…or jealous at the moment.

"Being called whipped by someone usually means they're _jealous_ of your relationship anyway, hell, they might be jealous because you're with a sexy mama," then Shanks threw his hands up the in the air to show his frustration towards the younger captain.

Kidd blinked slowly; he didn't know if he should be jealous about the air.

"You are whipped, Kiddo, whipped, whipped, _whipped!_ Be proud of it!"

Kidd blinked slowly again; he didn't know if he should be upset that Shanks could have a crush on Gabriella or that Shanks called him whipped. Though, Kidd saw a bit of truth in what the senior captain said about being whipped, maybe other men were just jealous of him and his relationship. If that was the case, then hell he was fine with it. He'd still kill certain people who said it, but he wouldn't take it out on Gabriella; he would just use it as an excuse to kill, because, well, killing was fun… No shame in that.

"So…" Shanks slowly drew out with a cheeky smirk. "Do you want me to tell you about Allison, Becky and Kathy? All three of them at the same time?" and the senior captain wiggled his brows.

Kidd just looked at the senior captain blankly. Then he looked towards Beckman and the first mate shook his head, signaling it was just another made up drunken tale. "Nah…" Kidd slipped from the grasp of the senior captain by inching away and standing up. "Think I'm gonna check up on Gabriella," and then he quickly turned away before Shanks could stop him.

He made his way to the tent on the out skirts of the party, the doctor vacant from space and Gabriella the only one in there with Musket overseeing her.

The familiar sat at the foot of her head, dapping a wet washcloth to her brow to cool her down. "Master's getting better," the winged goblin told the captain as he sat down beside the cot she laid in.

"Good," Kidd sighed deeply as he rested his elbows on his knees. "It almost looks like the bruise…is almost gone," he murmured in disbelief when his metal fingers brushed over the skin that was formerly black and blue now a pale red and pink. "What the hell did that doctor give her…?"

"Nothing," Musket told the captain simply. "I believe it's magic, Captain."

* * *

><p>"Go through Kidd's memories?" Gabriella scoffed with mild irritation, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm kinda not happy with the guy right now. So <em>no<em>."

Lusia's bright smile fell to a disappointed frown. "_But don't you want to see your lover's past, not just hearing about it, but living through it first hand?_" The messenger asked with a tiny, persuasive smile. "_Don't that sound fun? Has he told ya about his childhood at all?_"

"Not much," Gabriella admitted, but shrugged it as nothing. "But I haven't told him much either and we seem to get along fine without it."

"_Obviously not since you're fighting,_" Lusia called her out instantly, skeptic attitude sharp on her tongue. "_Maybe if ya…do the spell then you can see why he acts like this, right honey?_"

"I know why he acts like this," Gabriella huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "He has an ego the size of the world and one little thing will throw him into a rage fit like a two year old."

"_Still. There's a reason for everythin', honey,_" the messenger continued to try to get the summoner mage to agree.

Gabriella sighed, and threw her head back in annoyance. "Fine," she grumbled in defeat. "But I'm only doing this because I know I'll be here for a while. I need a change of scenery."

"_Excellent!_" Lusia smiled and clapped her hands together. "_Let the enchantment begin!_" then the messenger raised her hands high into the air, her fingers twitching from the green sparks of magic flowing out from her skins.

In the empty white space where the mist was still and hung in the air by magic means, a wind suddenly picked up and swirled around her. It drastically moved the loose fabric of her shirt and also the strands of misplaced ginger hair to cover the summoner mage's face. Gabriella was blinded for a mere moment as the atmosphere change from a cool, calm stand still to a burning hot, like she was standing under the scorching hot sun in the desert.

Sweat almost instantly started to form along her skin. Droplets formed on brow, thick on the hairline and even more on the nape of her neck. Wiping the back of her hand to remove the uncomfortable moister growing there, she used her free hand to flip her misplaced hair from her eyes so she could take in the new scenery. Her golden eyes opened wide with shock when she looked to be on an island paradise.

A tense forest of palm trees with coconuts on every single one, the tough fruit almost weighting down the thin trees due to the large clusters perched between the leafy palms. Then behind her were crystal blue waters, the waves rolling and lapping at the pearly white beach, the sand so so soft under her bare feet.

_Wait._

_Bare feet?_

She was positive she was wearing boots just a minute ago.

She looked down, seeing that she was no longer wearing her usual wardrobe of revealing deep v neckline shirt with fur collar, skin tight black jeans and boots with her hidden dagger in the heel. But rather, she was now in beach attire; tiny brown shorts and black bikini top. Hell, eve her scars were gone…

_Strange…_

Touching the skin of her left cheek, she felt the absence of her battles scars. Now she was even more confused by the second. She knew about the enchantment Walk Down Memory Lane, but never went through it before so she didn't know what the side effects would be, especially when one was going through another's memories rather than their own.

Then suddenly a hand latched onto one of her breast and Gabriella yelped in shock when she saw that it was the messenger experimentally groping her. "W—what the _fuck!_" she stuttered with wide eyes; this was unbelievably uncomfortable.

"_Hmm…_" Lusia ignored the summoner mage's words with a thoughtful hum as her tan fingers squeezed the soft flesh. "_Dang, honey,_" the messenger whistled in disbelief. "_Even at sixteen you had a pair of giant hooters. Did ya ever have back problems…just hot damn._"

"Would you let go!" Gabriella snapped with pink cheeks as she girlishly slapped the messenger's hands from her chest and then crossed her arms to protect her bosom. "Don't you have any manners, jeez."

"_You do it all t'at time with ya bestie, honey,_" Lusia pointed out frankly as she rested her hands on her hips. "_I've seen it._"

"First," Gabriella started sharply in a scolding tone. "That's creepy you know that. Second," the summoner mage added. "I've known Maddie since we were in diapers compared to you whom I met five minutes ago!"

"_I'm a messenger of the gods, honey,_" Lusia huffed and rolled her emerald eyes. "_I've known ya just as long._"

"I didn't know that!" Gabriella countered in annoyance and was about to have a complete fit, but she took a dew deep breathes in and then out to calm down; not the time to argue. When she felt she could speak without shouting, she said: "Let's just move on. Why am I sixteen right now?"

"'_Cause your boyfriend is_," Lusia easily answered.

"Okay, then _why_ are we here when he's sixteen?" Gabriella continued to question the messenger.

Lusia just giggled mischievously, a devilish gleam in her eyes that actually made the summoner mage wary; this could not be good. Though, the messenger said nothing and just pointed further down the beach. Gabriella turned to look in the same direction and squinted her eyes, barely picking up on the hazy outline of what looked to be a dock with small fisherman boats. She didn't understand it at first, but then she remembered Kidd mentioning he lived on a tropical island that was mainly populated by fishermen.

When she looked back at Lusia to see if she was correct, she saw that the messenger had vanished in a puff of smoke, gone from sight. With a sigh and a shake of her head, the summoner mage knew there was only one way to find out: explore.

She made her way down the beach, the image of the dock turning from a dull grey to something lively with color from the fish piled up in crates, the scales of all different shades and the sun picking up on every color. Then there were the fishermen adding a flare to the scene, all of them wearing brightly colored pants and shorts along hats or bandanas atop their heads. Also, all the men were shirtless. Their muscles were coated in sweat and dozens of tattoos as they carried crates and hulled nets of fish back and forth along the creaky boards of the single dock.

And when she walked up to the bustling port full of fishermen, they noticed her instantly, like a hound after blood in that strange lustful way.

The younger ones of the lot stopped what they were doing and whispered to mates with smirks directed at her. Then they started to whistle rowdily at her, which wasn't an uncommon thing. When she walked into a bar there was also the drunk bunch that did; then they shut the hell up when Kidd walked in right behind her.

Kidd wasn't with her now though…

…or was he?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the familiar flame of hair that belong to the one and only Eustass Kidd and look over her shoulder and there he was.

Only sixteen and he was still tall, but his build was two times smaller than he was now. The rippling muscles were only starting to form under the skin of his bare chest, but his hair was just as wild as it was when she first met him. He even still had those goggles that were once ugly until she got used to them. But instead of them being perched on his brow, they were hanging around his neck as he worked at the end of the dock, lifting crates up into stacks.

She cocked her head to the side, staring at him in the heat of the sun. He looked like a normal teen; no makeup, no nail polish, his shorts were a simple shade of maroon and no yellow dots in sight. Hell, even Kidd's work boots were normal, worn black leather, but still normal.

Strangely, he looked innocent at the age of sixteen, well, at least more innocent than when he first met him. But that didn't mean he wasn't any different; she was positive that he was still a son of bitch with an ego problem, maybe a mild cause, but it sure as hell was still there. Personally, she didn't want to see if she was wrong or right.

Girls held grudges for a long time, which meant she would be pissed until she talked with her Kidd, bit the sixteen year old one.

Though, when she was slapped in the ass by none other than Lusia she knew it was time to get moving. How did she know it was Lusia and not one of the dockhands? Because she heard the messenger said:

"_Get a move on, honey!_"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and ignored it the messenger's words, but then she started to think if over a bit. Messing with Kidd's younger self could be fun…and maybe a bit therapeutic.

So, with a small smile, she folded her hands behind her back and strolled down the dock to where he worked.

He didn't notice her as he worked within his own little zone, lifting up another crate effortless into his arms. It was only when he turned did he see her and he suddenly stopped, stared at her exposing body from head to toe and blinked as a pink clouded his cheeks; he was like a deer in headlights.

She couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face. "Hey," she waved to him. "I'm Gabriella," she intruded herself, amusement thick in her tone, and she wasn't the only one amused by it.

His fellow coworkers in the background where highly entertained by the scene apparently.

"_Look at Kiddo!_"

"_He's blushin' like a wee babe~!_"

"_His mum will have a fit if she sees this, eh?_"

"_April! Call thee April!_"

Kidd had snapped from his daze and his cheeks darkened to a bloody shade of red as he lifted an arm in the air to shake a tight fist at them. "**Shuddup ya bastards!**" he hollered at them furiously, but then he grumbled a curse under a sharp intake of breath when he lost his grip on the crate he was holding in one arm.

And it landed on his toe with a painful _thud._

Laughter erupted when Kidd yelped in pain like a cat when its tail was stepped on, even Gabriella couldn't help laugh at the misfortune. She felt he deserved it. Though, all the laughing stopped when the man in charge bellowed from the tiny fishing boat's deck, ordering them all to get back to work. And like ants scurrying from the human's mighty foot from above, they got out of dodge of the empty crate being throwing at them and the men got back to work.

While the fishermen did as they were told in a hurry, Gabriella continued to giggle since she wasn't a target and she continued to watch Kidd as he kicked away the crate he dropped with his unharmed foot. The wood splintering under the pressure.

"Whadda want?" Kidd snapped harshly, the red color on his cheeks spreading to his ears and neck.

"Show me around town," was all Gabriella said. "I'm new."

"I can tell," Kidd scoffed, and Gabriella noticed he tried very hard to avoid eye contact, hell, he refused to look at her.

_So cute_, she thought. Watching Kidd like this made Gabriella almost forget his ego is like a deadly, unwanted disease.

"Ask someone else," Kidd mumbled his refusal.

"**KIDD!"** the same shout of the boss from before came, and this time Gabriella got a good look at the burly man who looked like tan gorilla with grey arm hair and bushy beard on his face. He had Kidd's nose, the sharp features looked almost identical. This was was definitely an Eustass, but he looked to old to be Kidd's father; his grandfather most likely. "**You lacking behind! I'm gonna make you stay until midnight if ya don't move yur ass!**"

Kidd flinched at the yelling and he hollered back. "Can't, Pops! Taking this chick on a tour!" and then Kidd grabbed her wrist and dragged her away with his coworkers whooping and hollering about a night in the inn with the sexy tourist.

To a stranger, the comment would be unwavering, but Gabriella just shook her head with a light chuckle. From the way Kidd was acting, it wasn't going to happen, and even if he would try to pull a fast one on her, she'd whoop his ass to the moon.

As she had suspected, Kidd's head was in the storm clouds above his head and he just dragged her through the tiny portside town. The houses all painted a creamy white and rooftops made of bright red shingles that stood out among the bright palm leaves of the trees that clustered around each home and store. The town square was active with locals, most of them going about their normal day while others took interest in the pair. Men passing stared at them in shock while women gossiped with each other about the sight, amusement clear in their eyes.

Gabriella had no idea why, but based on what the dockhands said, it was probably about Kidd's mother and this April girl that continued to pop up in conversations every now and then.

It made the summoner mage curious to say the least.

"Who's April?" Gabriella experimentally questioned. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Kidd instantly stopped, in the middle of the town square no less, and snapped his head towards her with a look of disgust on his face. "Oh, _hell_ no," he shook his head with a cringe. "She's just a chick that works for my mom, and that bitch wants me to marry the girl. But every time she looks at me there is fear in her eyes. She overacts about the fights I have, jeez."

Gabriella cocked a brow. "Is she pretty?"

Kidd blinked rapidly, taking in the question slowly, and then hesitantly shrugged. "I guess so…?"

Gabriella became even more curious now. "Prettier than me?"

"Well…um," Kidd's cheeks turned pinks and he avoided eye contact as he scratched the back of his head.

Gabriella smiled at his reaction, knowing exactly what was going through his mind; she knew him long enough by now that she could read him like a book, no matter the age. It left a sweet feeling in her and she acted upon it by wiggling her wrist out of his hand and instead weaved their fingers together.

Kidd stared at her like she was crazy and his eyes shifted back and forth to the people around the square that noticed.

It brought a suddenly frown came to her lips when she he did that; it had been so long since he acted like that. The past started dwell on her, mixing with the future and that's when she fully noticed that was she held his left hand, it was small and warm not large and cool. She was so used to feeling the metal fingers and iron palm against her own.

Her free hand went to cup his cheek and her thumb ran over his brow where the missing battle scars where. For a moment, this didn't feel like her Kidd, but when she finally noticed that look he was giving her; the look that she was being completely weird, crazy and so much more; it was kinda like the first couple of weeks they were getting used to each other.

That made a smile come to her lips again. "You're so cute."

Kidd glared at her, pinks still prickling pink as he gently shoved her hand away from his cheek. "D—don't' call me that, damnit."

Yup, this was still her Kidd.

She was about to open her mouth to comment on the romantic mood they were having, but the moment was shattered to pieces when a large rock bounced off Kidd's temple, a _rock_. Her eyes opened wide with shock as blood trickled down his brow and he flinched when the iron liquid blinded his left eye.

Kidd froze, his head thrown to the side as his eyes opened wide. His hand went to the wound and his finger tis touched the blood and he pulled his hand away to look at the red dripping from his skin to the ground. Then he clenched his hand into a tight fist and growled with rage as his head whirled in the direction the rock flew from and he barked. "_Token! You bastard!_"

The younger version of Token just smirked, his lean body smaller than Kidd's but he look confident as he tossed another rock up and down in his hand, but that was only because he had back up. "I had to ruin the moment," was all the blonde said and the group of boys behind him chuckled deeply. "Makes it even better since Killer and Chamberlain aren't here."

"If you fight dirty I'm gonna fight dirty too you bastard!" Kidd roared and from the deep pockets, he pulled of his trademark dagger that Gabriella's never seen him without.

The locals saw, no, they felt the tension and they backed away, ducking into home and stores to avoid any fight that was bound to start. The people seemed to go through this a lot since they were so fast about it. The summoner mage knew that Kidd could handle a fight even when the odds were against him, hell, she could even help him too; she wasn't some dame that always needed saving, usually. But she didn't want a fight right now.

So, she tightened her grip on his hand and placed her other on his arm. "Forget them," she told him calmly. "You promised to give me a tour, remember?"

Kidd stared at her for a long moment, but under her finger tips, she felt his body relax and he slowly replaced the dagger back in his pocket without a word.

Token, though, had something to say. "_**Whipped!**_" he shouted at the touch of his lungs as he pointed and accusing finger at the redhead and that group of boys laughed wildly behind him.

Kidd's ears turned red with rage and he looked ready to pounce into battle.

Though, Gabriella held him back discreetly, but that didn't mean she wasn't mad either; what was up with that word _whipped_. "And what's so wrong with that, huh?" she challenged, and she really hoped she didn't just bruise Kidd's ego more defending him. "You're all just jealous because you don't have a girl, right? So you just say that to try and get a rise out him. You're all just a bunch of pussies because you can't keep a girl, therefore can't get laid."

Kidd burst out laughing because it seemed that Gabriella said the right, especially since Token and his boys all turned red with embarrassment.

The summoner mage smirked proudly, her chin held high, though it had to be shot down by Token once more.

The blushing blonde terrible with rage and he pointed a finger at her, shouting: "And you're just a Main Lander Whore!"

Gabriella froze; it wasn't the first time she was ever called that, but she still never had a good feeling in her gut when she was called that.

Kidd, when he heard she was called that, whether he was present or through the grape vine, he was boiling with rage in a snap of a finger. This time wasn't any different. He charged into battle like a bull, horns pointed and ready to strike. He was more violent than when his ego was bruised about being whipped. This wasn't an odd sight, but when she put it in perspective that Kidd technically just 'met' her then it was a definite wow moment; a turn on actually.

Kidd punched the Token so hard in the cheek that Gabriella was sure she heard crack when her redhead's knuckles racked across the blonde's face and rammed into his nose. Token was out like a light, but one of the boys behind him jabbed Kidd in the side, making the redhead cringe before whipping around punching him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the guy. The boy stumbled back and almost took Gabriella to the ground, but she sidestepped him and knocked him out cold with a good old back handed slap. Not that anyone noticed.

Kidd took the show with more blood and also winning the battle, hands down, but he didn't come out unscratched. "Damnit," he cursed, wiping blood from his chin and started to storm away.

Gabriella was quick to follow him down a path that led to a house that matched all the others. The door was wide open to allow the breeze to come it whenever it made its way through the trees. The house had a simple floor plan, an open space for kitchen, living and dining room and no one seemed to be home save for a young girl no longer than the age of twelve cutting tomatoes at the island. She shared Kidd's flaring red hair, short and disheveled and her skin just as pale as his, but her face showed no features like Kidd and his grandfather hand. She was in deep concentration until Kidd burst into the room. She jumped with a yelped and the knife fell from her hands into tomatoe goo.

"_Kidd!_" she cried, running to his side and grabbed his arm, completely ignoring Gabriella's presence. "Are you okay!"

"Not now Kibbles," Kidd grumbled and walked into the bathroom with Gabriella right behind him.

"I'll get Mommy!" the girl named…_Kibbles_ said quickly as she rushed from the room.

"_Kimberly!_" Kidd then shouted her real name, desperate to stop her, but the door was already slammed in response. "Damn," he cursed, but then shrugged it off as he went into a tiny bathroom to treat his battle wounds.

Gabriella leaned against the doorway, watching as Kidd opened the medicine cabinet and ripped out an array of stuff until he got to the two most important thing: rubbing alcohol and a roll of bandages. He was going to cause more pain, Gabriella could just tell and she stepped up. "Let me help," she softly offered before he could literally dump the bottle of alcohol on his wounds.

Kidd allowed her to do so and he stepped aside, leaning against the counter as she worked silently.

She went back to the medical cabinet and looked through to see if there was another else that could be of use, which was cotton balls and she put that next to the things that Kidd pulled out. Then, she grabbed an extra towel from the side and ran it under the tap then turned to Kidd.

"Give me your hand," she ordered gently and he did so, placing his hand in her open one. Then she began to wipe away the blood from his knuckles with water first. "So…" she started to bring up small talk to cast away the silence as she pulled out a cotton ball and dapped it with rubbing alcohol. "You call your little sister…_Kibbles?_"

"Yeah," Kidd cringed slightly when the alcohol touched his open wound on his hand as she placed the cotton ball on top. "Don't know why, just do."

"It's cute," Gabriella giggled lightly as she dressed the wound, tying the bandage off with a knot.

"Hmph," Kidd grunted, ignoring the comment completely.

Silence fell in shortly behind as Gabriella continued to clean and dress every wound. And once she worked on patching up the cut caused from the rock thrown at his head by Token, Gabriella spoke up again. "And thanks for defending me back there…"

"Hmph," Kidd grunted again, and she noticed his eyes look contact with hers again. "Just felt like I needed to. No big deal. It's whatever."

Gabriella finished the last knot on the bandages wrapped around his forehead and then grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to look back at her. Then look he gave her when they were in town square did not come to his features; he looked sheepish, nervous, maybe inexperienced when if came to girls and emotions like this. It would fit Kidd considering their relationship. It was so...cute. She couldn't find a better word for it since he was so young, well they both were technically.

He just started at her, unsure of what to do next. Gabriella then knew it was upon her to take the next step: she kissed him.

Why? Well, why wouldn't she?

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer and Kidd just stood there, frozen. For a second, Gabriella thought this was his first kiss, but after a moment, Kidd became comfortable and snaked his arms around her back and made sure there was no space between them as he kissed her back.

It was bliss. And Gabriella actually couldn't remember the last time she had such intimacy with Kidd and it was kinda funny that the first time for the long time it was with Kidd in a dream based on his 'memories'. She would have laughed if she wasn't locking lips at the moment.

Then suddenly everything stopped when there was a roar of an angry mama bear in the background. Gabriella and Kidd broke away from their kiss, the summoner mage to yelp and the red head to hold her protectively in his arms as the stomping of heavy heels got closer and closer and made the entire house shake.

Then in the door was appeared a short woman, steam pouring from her ears and her face the color of her flaming red hair. This had to be Kidd's mother, there was no other explanation. Gabriella only heard snippets of the woman, but if Doc was right...she wasn't going to enjoy meeting this woman by any means.

"**KIDD!**" the woman roared at the top of her lungs, her short body trembling like a bomb ticking away, ready to explode at any second "**How dare you bring a hussy into my home! What 'bout April, you bastard! This is why you are a disgrace to the family beside your stupid whining about being King of the Pirates! You will never be a King because I said you won't and mother is always right! The only way you can succeed in life is if you marry April and take over the family** **business!**"

"But I don't want to marry her!" Kidd countered in defense.

His mother's eyes narrowed dangerously, a murderous glint in her emerald eyes. "_You did something stupid, didn't you. you moron!"_

Kidd opened his mouth to say something, but words here shoved into it.

"**YOU GOT HER PREGNANT!**"

And that was the last thing Gabriella was left with before her world went black.


	102. Chapter 99: Bug-a-licious

Girl-luvs-manga: Deep down she loves Kidd, like really deep down. So deep down that you can barely see it.

Alpenwolf: -.- Kidd's mom was talking about Gabriella, not April.

Kannokyun: Where do you think Kidd learned his scary from? His dad...no...no, my friend...no.

Velonica14: I feel much better, and this week has your mini! :D I worked in the car on my iPod to get it done for you. :3

bluebelle94: Lol, you're welcome, and thank you for enjoying my stories. :) And I feel much better...though I wish I had some kitties...

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Kidd's good with coming up with awesome nick-names: Killer, Heat, Wire, now Kibbles. Chamberlain is the only one that's left out though... AND YOU INSPIRED ME! :D

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Compared to what he is now...I think younger Kidd would still have a bit of innocence in him...somewhere...maybe? I don't know...lol.

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: Oh, you have no idea. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 99: Bug-a-licious<p>

"_**I'm not pregnant!**_" She screamed at the top of her lungs, a defensive tone in her voice, her skin heating up with embarrassment and her body breaking out in a cold sweat.

She was livid, stunned in shock, yet something felt wrong. She was no longer in the tiny bathroom, but instead she was sitting upon a shallow cot within a pitched white tent. Musket was in her lap, her familiar looking up at her with wide, beady black eyes before the winged goblin glanced to the side and the summoner mage looked over, seeing a blushing Kidd.

His eyes were wide and his cheeks were a crimson shade as if he had chili peppers just stuffed into his mouth and steam poured from his ears from the heat of embarrassment. "…" he had nothing to say even though his month continued to open and close like a fish out of water.

"…" Gabriella could say nothing in return and just continued to stare at him until something at the front of the tent drew her attention.

A group of men she had never seen before in her life were peering inside curiously. That caused the red in Kidd's cheeks to travel quickly to his ears and neck.

The man up front eyed them with the most amusement, the three distinct scars on his skin over his left eye stretching from his eyes widening and his grin reaching from ear to ear. He was drunk, very drunk; Gabriella could tell by the pink staining his cheeks. "_**Kidd!**_" the man called out to her blushing captain. "Why your girlfriend's _**pregnant!**_"

"I think she said the _opposite_," the older gentleman beside him said as he took the cigarette out from between his teeth and then shook his head.

He was ignored by the man who first spoke and he turned around quickly to the other curious and amused men, his crimson hair swaying wildly with the motion. "There's a pregnant lady on board! Time to have a party!"

"_**Yeah!**_" The others shouted in agreement.

"Okay, okay," the man with the cigarette grunted and started to herd his fellow party mates from the tent. "Let's party elsewhere, 'pregnant' ladies can't drink booze."

"_Oh my gosh, Beckman!_" the one to start the party gasped in dumbfounded shock. "You're right! I forgot about that."

"I know, Shanks, I know," and that was the last thing Gabriella heard before the sounds of booming party started in the background.

Silence in the tent continued between the couple, and Gabriella merely held Musket close to her chest, the familiar squeaking like a rubber ducky in her grasp. This was rather…embarrassing, especially in front of people she didn't know. And Kidd probably didn't feel any better, probably even worse since he seemed to _know_ these people. She had a feeling she screwed up something and he was going to scold her once more, but, he didn't.

"Are you…" Kidd started to say, but then stopped when he couldn't even say they word. It took him a moment, but he was able to stutter it. "…_p—pregnant?_"

"I just said I wasn't!" Gabriella yelped, her cheeks turning pink and she squished Musket to her bosom so the familiar fidgeted uncomfortably. "I'm not, _I'm not!_"

"Are you…_ahem,_" Kidd coughed uncomfortably and avoided eye contact. "Are you…_late?_" he asked quietly, ashamed to say that sentence.

Gabriella opened her mouth to reply, but then she had to take a moment actually think about and she realized that she _was _late on her period.

Kidd watched as her tan skin turn pale and his body followed the reaction as his jaw went slack. "Oh _fuck._"

* * *

><p>It felt like an eternity, but finally Killer and the crew made it to the island. The Kidd Pirates were in a state of awe to see the infamous Red Haired Pirates; unlike other Yonko who had multiple fleets under their flag along with territories, the Red Haired Pirates were like free spirits that traveled in on ship wherever they pleased, a strong free spirit that is.<p>

The drunk crew on the island waved good bye to them, mentioning they didn't know why they were celebrating, but they knew it had to do with Kidd and Gabriella and they wished the couple a happy congratulation.

Kidd was so happy booze could do that to a person.

Killer, though, had a few questions. As Kidd started to walk by, dragging his summoner mage in tow, the masked blonde pointed to the beach slowly fading away. "Wha—"

"Not now," Kidd shoved his free hand in Killer's masked face, telling his first mate how it was. Right now, there was something more important to figure out: the ultimate pregnancy question: positive or negative?

Kidd made a bee line for the infirmary where the anti-social doctor spent most of his time, though he was not alone. Daniel wasn't only learning skills from Killer and Jeremy, but also Doc and, basically, the crew's cabin boy was currently in the infirmary studying.

"Gabriella!" The boy shot up from his seat and was rushing across the floor to greet her with a hug around the legs. "You're finally back! Are you okay? Did you really meet one of the Yonko? Was—"

"And that's enough!" Kidd barked and snatched Daniel by the collar of his shirt and dropped the boy on the floor outside the room. "Time for bed."

"But it's only two in the afternoon!" Daniel defended sharply. "And I still have a bunch of stuff to do today!"

"Like I give a damn," Kidd scoffed, tossing the petty issues of the boy aside.

Then Gabriella stepped in to gentle defuse the situation. She placed her hands on her knees and looked her baby in the eyes—even though his eyes were covered by shaggy blonde bangs—and smiled softly. "Just go see Killer about some weapon training, okay? Kidd and I have something important to talk about with Doc, and it's for grownups."

Daniel's annoyance simmered down and he nodded, understanding the situation and he didn't question on what it was. "Okay," was all he said and they turned away to find the first mate.

Gabriella then closed the door to the infirmary for as much privacy as possible. They were going to need it.

Doc through the whole ordeal didn't so much move a muscle from his work of reading medical journals they had…_borrowed_ from a…_passing_ Marine ship a few days back. "By the sounds of_ this_ talk, it gives me the feeling you guys are pregnant," he chuckled, taking it as a complete joke.

Kidd and Gabriella on the other hand, exchanged somewhat nervous looks before making eye contact with the doctor.

Doc blinked blankly from behind his spectacles and stopped writing completely when there was that awkward silence. "Sweet Mother of Jesus," he muttered in disbelief and tumbled backwards in his chair and went to the ground with a trembling_ thud_.

"Do you have any of those…?" Kidd mumbled quietly with embarrassment as he waved a hand to try and find a word for the word he felt uncomfortable about saying. When he couldn't find one as his ineligible mumbling continued, he found his cheeks swelling with more heat.

"…pregnancy tests," Gabriella completed for him.

From behind Doc's desk, the doctor's hand appeared and his finger pointed to a cabinet on the other side of the room. "Third cabinet on the left. Can't miss them. God, never thought I'd be alive to see this day."

"Zip it!" Kidd hissed to the doctor's hand that slithered behind the desk out of sight once more.

Gabriella ignored Doc's comment and went to get what she needed and then quickly headed to the bathroom connected to the infirmary.

Kidd felt like this was another eternity moment again. He paced the floor like a madman, his feet practically making trenches in the wooden boards to the point where Doc was telling him to stop because it was shaking everything. Kidd countered that the doctor should stop laying like a fool on the floor and maybe it wouldn't be so shaky, but the doctor of course didn't listen. Therefore, Kidd ignored him and went back to his inner thoughts.

If it was negative, he would be okay with that. Truthfully, it would be like he dodge a fucking army of bullets flying into his eyes.

But if it was positive…could he handle being a father? Was he mature of enough? _Wait_, the question should be if a baby was save enough. The first thing that came to mind was Roger and Ace. Kidd was planning on being the new King of Pirates and if he had a child, would the Marines and World Government try and hunt out an infant that was as innocent as a saint? The answer was yes, the two forces never changed and Kidd doubted he would be alive when that moment ever happened. He didn't want his kid to live through that. A small part of him would admit if he had a child appear in his life, he would be scared shitless of all the worst possible things that could happen.

What the hell was he going to do?

Then the sudden creak of the bathroom door opening shattered his thoughts and Kidd whirled around to see Gabriella step out with a sheepish smile on her face. Kidd instantly felt his heart skip three beats and he inhaled sharply through his nose. She was going to say y—

"No," Gabriella shook her head with a weak smile. "It's negative," and she waved the pregnancy test in hand.

Kidd leaned all his weight against the wall as he sighed deeply with relief. He just dodged a fucking army of bullets targeting his eyes.

* * *

><p>Gabriella relaxed in the town square of the city they recently docked at to restock mainly on food. Tom, their cook, noticed a major lack of fresh vegetables, fruits and meats, probably because of the large party they had at Oasis Island. The Straw Hats could really eat, mainly Luffy; the rubber captain looked like a balloon at the end of it.<p>

At least ammunition was fine; Kidd had a thing about picking out ammo. It was like Gabriella's need to pick out new shoes when she could, she _had_ to do it. But, if they did need more then it wouldn't have been able to go because he was in…_surgery_ at the moment.

She would use the term lightly because the 'surgery' was Nick fixing Kidd's mechanical arm. Doc had been ever so kind to point out that Kidd's arm looked rather beat up, like it had almost been ripped from its port, as the doctor bluntly put it. Now Nick was furious when he heard that. The mechanic was usually a quiet soul, would harmlessly flirt with Gabriella from time to time before dashing away when Kidd sniffed it out a mile away, and he did his job of fixing up some of the machinery in the kitchen or helping repair guns and cannons, but when Kidd's arm—his greatest work—was just _one-screw-turned-the-wrong-way_ out of line, there was hell to pay.

Though, Nick would never take it out on his captain; you don't bite the hand that feeds you. And, technically, it wasn't Kidd's fault. It was Gabriella's…more or less…or a lot. More like, entirely.

Therefore, Gabriella was putting some space between her and the mechanic because she would get a verbal beat down if she got anywhere near Kidd and his arm while Nick fixed it up.

So, she stayed in town. The city had a large fountain in the town square, and Gabriella sat at the edge of it, legs crossed elegantly and her newest puppy Ezio in her lap and big boy Hamish at her feet. Daniel was off with Killer looking at new small weapons he could use and train while Benjamin went along with the ride. Or, the baby bear was with Doc and Jeremy at the bookstore. She didn't pay too much attention to it because when Chamberlain, err, _warned_ her about Nick as the navigator took Kilrain on a quick walk, the summoner mage didn't get all the details on the plan.

She had made a plan and booked it out of the ship's presence with Madeline and Bedros in tow.

"What's up with the new outfit?" Bedros questioned, leaning forward to look past Madeline and towards Gabriella.

The summoner mage glanced down at the black cocktail dress, the fabric clinging to the curves of her body, the hems stopping halfway down her thighs and the sweetheart neckline was strapless to show off just a bit of her well earned battle scars. "Well~" Gabriella sung in a soft note, rolling her ankle around to the shiny leather of her blank pumps glistened in the sun. "Kidd kinda got mad that I wanted to buy more clothes and shoes when I don't wear any of it. So, to prove him wrong I'm wearing something different."

"The dress looks cute," Madeline gushed, a smile quick to appear on her lips.

"But is it really…appropriate to wear?" Bedros questioned with a brow cocked in curiosity.

"Of course," a new, smooth feminine voice joined the party as the unknown woman sat down beside Gabriella. "If a woman as the body to pull it off, then why not wear something that compliment it, right?"

Gabriella eyed the other woman, and the first thing she noticed was the girl had amazing looking skin. It looked so smooth, so smooth that Gabriella didn't even need to touch to say that it was truly a fact.

Madeline then gasped from the other side of the summoner mage and leaned forward, grabbing both of Gabriella shoulders and looked around her best friend's form. "I know you! You're _Iron Mace_ Alvida!"

"Who?" Bedros questioned, leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and glance at the other woman.

"Alvida," Madeline repeated with a scoff. "She's a pirate that's a member of one of the Warlord's crew. I read about them in the paper once. They all look like the popped out of a circus tent, minus Alvida, which is why the name stuck in my head."

"Yeah," Alvida sighed with light annoyance as she flicked a lock of black hair over her shoulder and then adjusted her cowboy hat atop her head. "My crew is rather boneheaded, but my captain is smart. Or he just had dumb luck that he can work with somehow. He's not the strongest pirate out there; only connections to big names got him far, like Shanks, Whitebeard and Roger himself."

"Wow…" Bedros whistled with astonishment. "That's a fancy cookie right there; he's like a superstar, huh."

Alvida rolled her green eyes. "You have _no_ idea."

Gabriella glanced at the other woman with curiosity in her golden eyes, but her attention was turned to the civilians around her that started to scream. And there, Gabriella's jaw dropped when she saw a massive lion. Most people should have been scared, but that just wasn't the summoner mage's forte. "Awe~" she cooed when the lion growled softly towards Alvida. "What a cute kitty."

Alvida eyed the summoner mage in amusement. "Heh," she chuckled. "Kitty is loosely putting it. But then again, Richie is big softy when it comes down to it."

The large lion plopped down on his rump and turned his head away, the large fur of his mane barely hiding the blush of his fuzzy cheeks.

"Richie," Gabriella gushed and waved the large lion over. "Com'ere~ I won't hurt you."

Richie looked away bashfully and waved a paw with a roaring chuckle; he seemed to like the treatment and he didn't mind walking over and laying down in front of her so she could scratch him behind his ears. Ezio didn't enjoy the large cat invading his doggy presence and scampered off Gabriella's lap and went all the way over to Bedros's so he could growl at Richie disapprovingly. Hamish, on the other hand, just sniffed Richie's paw and then went back to his peaceful nap, not caring that there was a lion laying only centimeters next to him.

Alvida's thin brow rose, entertained by the sight. "You really like animals."

"Yes I do~" Gabriella gushed, more to Richie than Alvida, but she answered the other woman's question none the less. "They is all my bay-bays~," then she paused, a deep frown on her face. "But rats, squirrels, hamsters, mice, chipmunks and rats."

"You said rats twice," Alvida pointed out.

"She _hates_ rats," Madeline told the other woman.

"_Really_ badly," Bedros stressed the words.

"Well, I don't know a lot of people who would like rats anyway…" Alvida shuttered. "I know I don't."

"Ahem, sister," Gabriella nodded with a serious frown, but then she gasped loudly when Richie all of a suddenly shot up into a sitting position.

The large lion twisted his head around to look at the crowd coming down the street which caused the civilians to clear the way in a hurry from the troublesome group. Richie's ears twitched and he stood up on all fours, his monstrous paws pounding against cobblestone ground as he heard the shouts coming closer.

"And here comes the main attraction," Alvida sighed, crossing her legs then propped an elbow up on her knee and rested her chin in her hand.

"Richie!" A man broke away from the blurry crowds of circus colors. He came running, arms opened wide to embrace the lion, the wind rushing through the strange fur vest and hat shaped with ram's horns atop of his head. "There you are," he collided with the lion's board and furry chest lovingly. "You did a good job finding Alvida."

Richie grinned brightly, showcasing all his sharp teeth as the man that praised him stepped forward and pulled a tiny treat shaped like a fish from the pocket of his blue pants and gave it to his feline companion.

"It wasn't that hard to find me, Mohji," Alvida sighed with annoyance. "You all are just lazy."

"Not true!" Mohji snapped in offense, and when the rest of his fellow circus looking freaks joined him, he looked to a tall man to his right that carried katana slung over his shoulder and also…an unicycle. "We aren't lazy, right, Cabaji?"

"Rich'e is," Cabaji bluntly said, which made the lion and lion tamer gasp in offended shock. "All he does is lay around all day and in a fight he's only good for a shield."

Mohji's cheeks turned crimson red with rage and he got up close and personal in Cabaji's face, which the man did not appreciate in the least, and pointed an accusing finger to Cabaji's exposed cheek. "The only lazy one 'round here is you! You don't even walk!"

"I ride a unicycle!" Cabaji countered bitterly. "It takes skills to use one and also it's more excise than walking! How is that lazy?"

"Because you look stupid!"

And then the bickering began.

The four sitting on the edge of the fountain looked back and forth between the arguing duo as the verbal fight got more intense, and admittingly, more stupid.

"Why are they fightin' like this, eh?" Bedros looked to Alvida for answers.

Alvida pointed to Mohji. "First mate," then Cabaji. "Second mate."

"That explains a lot," Madeline huffed, annoyed with the pairs banter.

"Good thing Killer and Heat never act like this," Gabriella added as she took Ezio from Madeline's lap as the puppy made his way over to her again once Richie was far enough away.

"If Heat ever called Killer stupid I swear I'd cut a bitch," Madeline threatened coldly.

Gabriella just rolled his eyes, but then her attention went back to the crowd in the background that started to part like the sea.

"**Mohji! Cabaji! Shut up both of you!**" And two disembodied fists came soaring and rammed into the cheeks of the first and second mates', knocking the two out temporally on the ground. Then the fists snapped back to the wrists they belonged to. Though, the first thing the three Kidd Pirates noticed was the giant red, rubber nose; then they noticed the powers, devil fruit powers. "Stop the fighting, you're giving the Superstar a headache," the man stepped forward and placed the back of his head to his brow with the tattoo of cross bones that ran over his eyes.

"_**Sorry Captain Buggy!**_" The two men with swollen cheeks shouted, hell, even the crew behind him that did nothing at all apologized as well.

Captain Buggy just scoffed and turned his full, undivided attention to Alvida and stormed over to her, finger pointed rudely in her face. "You're late! You're late! You're late! Don't keep the Superstar waiting!"

"Hmph," Alvida scoffed and rolled her green eyes.

Captain Buggy was about to scream something at her, but then his eyes glanced over to Gabriella as the summoner mage stared at him blankly; she was a bit fixed on his odd nose…. Though, Buggy didn't seem to notice as his cheeks turned a bright pink and he scurried back with wide eyes as his crew crowded around him with the same expression as him. "Galdino…" he slowly turned his head to the man beside him, his hair gelled and tied up to look like the number three. "Is that who I think it is…?"

"…" Galdino said nothing, but even if he did he wouldn't have been heard over the shout of the crew.

"_**It's Exotic Scarlet!**_"

And then the Buggy Pirates began to, for a better word, bug out over the fact that Gabriella was just basically sitting there. What a weird crew; she thought her crew looked funny, well, that had been proven wrong.

"They consider you an idol," Alvida told her simply. "They say you're the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Eh…" Gabriella didn't know if she should feel flattered, or creeped out by the comment. "But Boa Hancock is much prettier than me… She really _is_ the most beautiful man in the world."

"It's more along the lines that you are 'obtainable' to them." Alvida air quoted.

"_Obtainable?_" Gabriella, Madeline and Bedros all said in confused unison.

"What does that mean?" Gabriella then singularly asked with concern.

"_Are you going to steal Exotic Scarlet, Captain Buggy?_"

"_Just like you told us the other times, right?_"

"_Steal her from right under the young gun Eustass!_"

"_**Go, Captain Buggy, GO!**_"

Alvida pointed to the fidgety clown captain. "That's why. But don't worry; they're harmless. For the most part."

"…" Gabriella really had nothing to say to the comment, but if anything happened, Kidd would save her; he made a good habit of protecting her.

Buggy looked like he was just caught in a lie, but he was able to regain his composure and walked towards the summoner mage, coughing to clear his throat. "_Ahem_, Exotic Scarlet, I am Buggy The Star Clown, and I am the Superstar of the Schichbukia!"

"You're…a Warlord?" Gabriella slowly said.

"What a letdown after meeting Trafalgar Law," Madeline shook his head.

"I don't like the guy," Bedros looked to be in pain to say the next words. "But I have to agree."

Buggy and his crew gasped in shock, and the clown captain knew he had to dig himself out of this hole to impress in star quality crew. He ignored the insult and puffed out his chest and was ready to lash out a witty comeback, but it was put on the back burner as two new guests joined the party.

"Gabriella!" Daniel shouted from the side and came rushing up to the summoner mage, his braided blonde hair a complete mess. "Look at these throwing knifes I got. They're lightweight and easy to hide in my belt. It's better than throwing my duel daggers."

"That's great, Dannie Boy!" Gabriella cooed and kissed his cheek lovingly. "Now turn around, I'll fix your hair, baby."

"Okay," Daniel turned around and relaxed his forearms on Gabriella's thighs, leaning back as Gabriella braided his hair again.

Buggy and his crew blinked in mild shock and the shock-o-meter went through the roof when Killer made an appearance. The Buggy Pirates looked between Gabriella and Killer over and over again, every now and then sparing a glance as Daniel as the two adults had a small chat about weapons and training.

Then Buggy broke the silence. "_**What!? You have a KID?**_"

"If you look at the ages, you see it's logically impossible," Alvida pointed out. "And really gross."

"Oh," was all Buggy said.

Gabriella sighed, shaking her head as she continued to work on Daniel's hand; it had gotten pretty long and he didn't let her cut it anymore... "This isn't the first time someone thought that."

"Really?" Alvida mused, an interested gleam in her emerald eyes. "What did your _real_ boyfriend think about it?"

"I don't recall…" Gabriella admitted as she went into deep thought to try and remember, pausing in her work to finish Daniel's hair.

"He flipped," Killer clarified as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"He did?" Gabriella glanced towards the masked blonde, tilting her head to the side. "Are you sure?"

Killer gave her a look, even though his face was hidden his mask, she could tell by his body language. "Really."

"I'll take your word for it," Gabriella chuckled lightly and then she finished up Daniel's hand then sent him away to stand beside Killer once more.

"Good thing Eustass isn't here…" Alvida slowly started to saw as a smirk came to her lips. "Right, Buggy?"

"_**Hah!**_" Captain Buggy boasted, hand on his hips and chin held up with pride. "I'm not scared of a little brat like him! He's nothing compared to me, Superstar of the Schichbukia!"

"Then say it to my face."

Buggy's face instantly went pale and he gasped out of shock, the fear in his eyes making them bulge and a long smear of snot came from his large, red nose when he saw the scowling redhead towering over him with murderous aura coming from his form.

"Oh, Kidd, you're back," Gabriella smiled softly at him. "Has Nick calmed down? Is it safe to come back to the ship?"

Kidd held his glare with the clown captain a moment longer before turning his full attention to his summoner mage and he nodded his head. "Yea—" he paused midsentence as his eyes took a good look at what she was wearing. "Why are you wearing _that?_" he then questioned.

"To do this," she slyly smirked as she placed Ezio to the side and stood up to stroll over to her boyfriend.

He looked down at her with mild confusion and amusement as she wrapped her arms around his neck and then hiked her leg up onto his hip and then pulled their chests together so she could suavely kiss him upon the lips. And Kidd retaliated by latching his hand to her exposed thigh and placing his metal hand to the small of her back to force them even closer, the fiction of the kiss heightening.

In front of everyone.

Killer covered Daniel's innocent-boy eyes instantly while the Buggy Pirates gasped when they saw the heated passion right before their eyes, with the exception of Alvida who merely chuckled.

Then when Kidd and Gabriella finally broke the long kiss, Bedros broke the long silence with a slow clap. "Congratz, Abbie," the stone devil looked at the summoner mage in annoyance. "You caused almost all the men here to have boners. _Amazing_ job."

Gabriella shrugged; she was only worried about one man and she was pleased with the resulted she had be given and she approved of the situation.

Captain Buggy, the first to snap back from the shocking moment, turned away from the sight and declared. "I'll let you off with a warning this time Eustass! Next time though, you are a dead man," and then he briskly walked away, disappearing into the masses of his crew that cheered for him, and then jeered at Kidd.

Kidd, though, looked upon the sight with confusion as he and Gabriella detangled themselves from their current position. "This is just his flashy way of running away, isn't it."

Alvida chuckled lightly. "Oh, how right you are."

* * *

><p>Well, Buggy and Alvida have an alliance rather than she is apart of his crew (I did look it up). But she's kinda like a freeloader on his ship, so I made her a member of his crew, officially.<p>

Now, onto the mini~ It's not edited to due time...but I hope that's okay...

_Birthday Bash_

Caden was sound asleep and he made no effort to even bother waking up. Even though it was two hours past noon. Hey, he was allowed to sleep in because it was his motherfucking birthday. Don't tell his mom he cursed because she would have a fit.

Anyway, it was is birthday so he was going to sleep in.

Or so he thought.

Out from under his covers, he was pulled by his ankle and was dangling in the air. Hanging upside down, he blinked at the image of his dad's grimacing face.

That made Caden frown deeply; he didn't like that look. "What's wrong...?" He questioned worriedly.

"Your Mom had a job to do. Drake's house is crawling with demons."

"_Again?_" Caden's eyes opened wide with shock. "That's the fourth time this year! And that's really fuckin' bad!"

"I know, but nothin' she could do 'bout," Kidd shrugged.

"Couldn't Miss Ameria handle it?" Caden asked. "She might be better with ghosts but exorcisms are all the same, right?"

"Ameria _is_ there," Kidd told his son.

"Damn, it's that bad," Caden whistled in astonishment.

"Apparently so," was all Kidd said.

"So...what about my birthday party?"

"Not gonna be today, little man," Kidd shook his head and sighed. "I have work and can't leave you here alone. So you're coming with me. We'll celebrate your birthday tomorrow."

Caden sighed is disappointment. "Fine," he grumbled with a sideways glare to the corner. "Whatever. Just put me back on my feet. All my blood is rushing to my head."

And Kidd retaliated by hoisting his son over his shoulder and the made is way out of the room.

~...~

Caden sat in the front seat of his old man's pickup truck. He was grouchy, which he wasn't going to apologize for. His dad didn't say anything about it either, luckily. So parents liked to lecture-his mom being one of those people-but his dad was a mellow guy and allowed Caden to sulk in peace. And like his dad, he would bounce back sooner or later.

Caden sighed deeply and looked outside the window with scowling gold eyes and large frown carved onto his lips. This was turning out to be a horrible birthday, and he needed something to make it better. So far, there was nothing.

He tapped his fingers against the the side of the door, his blunt nails clicking against the worn leather, but then he noticed the winding lever for the window. A weak smirk came to his lips and he quickly rolled down the window the stuck his head out like a dog.

His dad wasn't going that fast, but the wind still rushed through his ginger locks and he grinned brightly, the intense breeze pushing his lips in all different directions. "_Faster!_"

His dad decided to humor him and picked up the speed, a smirk on his lips. But that instantly fell to a frown.

_Whoop-whoop!_

"Fuck!" Kidd hissed when he heard the sirens of a police car suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

There was nothing the redhead could do pull over and wait to be served.

"License and registration."

"Smoker-"

"Don't even try to smooth talk me, Eustass."

"Smoker, you know who I am."

"Protocol."

"Fine, here. Now I can explain. It's Caden's birthday and it hasn't been going well. I was just trying to make sure he is happy since his Mom is working on an exorcism."

"Hmph. You expect me to believe _that?_"

"Smoker. You know what my wife does. You're friends with Justice, the brother of Law who is married to Ameria who works for Hawkins and Gabriella also works for him. Through the grape vine of common people we know, you should know. Hell, you know Drake personally and that his house is as haunted at Alcatraz with Capone playing his banjo to the dust!"

"Yeah. Sure. Here's your ticket."

"Really? No warning?"

"No, good day. Oh, and happy birthday, little man."

~...~

Caden was starting to get worried. The trip to his dad's shop was only a few minutes from their house and it wasn't until they got pulled over by Officer Smoker did he notice that they were getting onto the highway. "Where are we going...?" he timidly asked his dad.

"Work," was all his dad said as he finally drove down an exit after a two hour long trip.

"Is this the...really long way?"

"No," was all Kidd said as he drove down a narrow rode that led to a beach.

The car then stopped and Caden started to get more confused as to why they were in the middle of nowhere. He watched to much CSI: Miami and he was starting to get negative thoughts about his dad since Caden wasn't a perfect child by far.

"Get out," Kidd ordered.

Caden was hesitant to do so, and it didn't help that his dad opened the door for him, a signal to get a move on.

They walked through the sand, Caden slightly nervous of being in such a remote place and then suddenly.

"_**SURPRISE!**_"

They turned corner around a rock and everyone he knew and his parents knew were there on the beach.

Caden was in shock.

His mom then came forward, a happy smile on her face as she leaned over to come face to face with him. "Happy Birthday Caden."

Then his dad went down on his knee and placed a hand atop of Caden's head. "And my work is done."


	103. Chapter 100: Time to Move

Girl-luvs-manga: I always thought that Buggy was like that, so it's good he came across like that. At least against people he knows he can't beat or outsmart.

Volleys-chan: Happy-late-Birthday! :D Yeah, Kidd and Gabriella have more of a humorous relationship compared to Law and Ameria, but it's to keep things different and on your toes. ;) Plus, thank you for the edits.

Alpenwolf: Haha, no problem, we are all guilty of misunderstanding or making mistakes in reviews. I once confused the roman numerals V and X and then got called out on it by another reviewer who pretty much called me stupid. xD Eh…it's what OP wiki told me to write? I looked it up and that's what I wrote? Oh well.

Shiningheart of Thunderclan: Caden is older than Tanner, by two years. So when Gabriella says she preggers then we know Tanner is soon to come next! Kidd is a good dad…maybe that's OoC, but heck, you people know by 100 chapters in that I _live_ to make Kidd OoC. It's my job.

YourWorstNightmare33: …There is a 100th chapter special out already… It's called "Thus a Baby was Born" and it's…yet to be complete but the first part it out!

Velonica14: I'm sure Buggy will be commenting that he is a "superstar" all the time when he comes into the manga again… I don't know for sure, but if he does, I will feel like a genius; just like Pewds.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: This was a funny chapter overall I'm guessing. xD It was just a bit of fun filler before the real shit hits the fan.

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: I'm glad you like the mini. :)

Sorry for any mistakes beforehand...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 100: Time to move<p>

Kidd groaned softly, his mind in a state of being half a sleep, his body having a sudden experience of being unbearably sore for no good god damn reason. His muscles were numb and it was a chore to do even the slightest bit of movement such as wigging his pinkie finger or curling his toes.

No battle, no fight, no brawl and no sex had happened within the last twenty-four hours to cause his bones to creak like they were a hundred years old and his limbs to feel stiffer than a cardboard box. He highly doubted it was growing pains because he wasn't old enough for that, right? He was almost _twenty-four_, not _forty-two_. Maybe it was just the stress of the upcoming shit that was going to go down within the month or even sooner than that. Yeah, taking down two Yonko and a Shichbukia with such a slim chance of success was, truthfully, nerve racking. Not that he would admit it aloud though, hell, he wouldn't even let it show on his face when asked about it.

Therefore, that must be why he felt like an old man in his early twenties: stress.

With another groan, he rolled over onto his side, hissing under his breath and his cramped muscles shifted under the sheets and he moved the covers over his form so they were tucked under his chin. The blankets hid all of Gabriella save for the top of her head as she changed positions since her former one was disturbed. The soft pads of her fingers racked along his shoulder blades to his lower back, wrapping them tightly around his torso. In return, his mechanical arm lounging over his summoner mage's stirred form, the cool metal relieving the heat between them under the sheets. Gabriella shivered lightly at the change in sudden temperature and curled up to his chest, snuggling close to balance his body warmth and the metal's coldness.

Once they both had settled back into a comfortable, shared spot, their muscles relaxing, Kidd slowly fell into slumber, but then he woke up with a jolt.

_Ring-ring!_

His den-den mushi on the nightstand started to go off.

"F~uck…" Kidd hissed venomously with his eyes cracking open into a murderous glare; too early in the morning for this, and when he forced himself to look over his shoulder, it only proved his point.

The first thing he noticed was that the alarm clock flashed the time of _two a.m._ in the morning.

_Fuck that shit_, was the first thing going through his mind; the snail would stop ringing in less than a minute and than he could go back to sleep like he should when it was in the middle of the god damn night. But Gabriella thought differently.

She grumbled demonic curses in her devil's tongue and then forcible tapped the side of her fist against his bare chest, getting his attention. "Answer it please…" she mumbled softly, but there was still a sharp edge to her tone.

Kidd sighed deeply, grunting as he rolled over and slapped his hand onto the den-den mushi and picked up the receiver. "Fuck you…" was his sleepy greeting.

"_Mister Eustass. It's Law."_

Kidd inhaled sharply, his mind wide awake now as his brows knotted together quickly as a dark scowl twisted the annoyed expression on his face. "Go to fucking hell!" he hissed like a snake through his teeth and then promptly hung up, slamming the receiver back to the den-den mushi so hard that the poor snail quivered with fear. Then Kidd quickly rolled over again, back facing the trembling snail as he grumbled curses under his breath. Damn that fucking surgeon; this is why he hated doctors.

_Ring-ring!_

Kidd groaned and buried his head deep into the feathers of his pillow to drown out the ringing. He was going to ignore that son of a bitch until _two_ in the _afternoon_.

"Kidd, answer it please," Gabriella whispered into his ear softly. "Just get it over with so we can so back to sleep."

"No," Kidd bluntly denied.

Gabriella scoffed lightly, and instead of arguing with him, she merely shimmied her little, under-dressed body over Kidd's form, her stomach slung over his side so she could answer the phone.

"Hello?" She answered with a light questioning tone in her voice and then clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "Yeah, Kidd's a bit tired so I'll talk instead."

There was a tiny pause as Gabriella listened to the buzzing tone on the other side of the call.

"Uh-huh," she nodded thoughtfully. "Uh-huh. I see. I don't know them, but Chamberlain should. I'll give him the phone. He's usually still awake."

Then the summoner mage opened a tiny vortex with a wave of her finger that had a tiny pulse of gold light at the tip. She then dropped the entire den-den mushi through the portal, the tiny hum of confusion from Chamberlain the only thing that was heard before the portal vanished from sight. With that out of the way, Gabriella snaked back into her former position curled up next Kidd and she nuzzled her cheek to his chest, embracing the welcomed warmth.

"What'd he want?" Kidd then asked tiredly as he slung his mechanical arm over her once more.

"We'll talk 'bout it in the mornin'…" she murmured sleepily.

"I can live with that," Kidd sighed and finally drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p>"So it's finally time to kick the can of the 'old' generation so the 'worst' can have the limelight, eh?" Kidd smirked as he lounged back in his office seat and kicked up his feet onto his desk. Then he folded his hands behind his head and chuckled darkly. Despite the stress, unwavering nervous and lack of sleep, Kidd would also admit that a part of him couldn't <em>wait<em> to see how this battle would unfold. With Hawkins in their alliance, the fortune teller was sure to know if they would at least succeed, if he told them at least. By and by, Kidd knew one thing aside from the flaws: this would be fun.

Chamberlain nodded shortly. "That's right," the navigator told his captain as he stood with Killer at his side in Kidd's office. "I talked to Law last night, courtesy of Gabriella… Anyway, I was able to give him the coordinates of the hideout. Luffy should be arriving before him though. He said he had other matters to deal with."

The redhead frowned and pursed his lips. "Well. Now _that_ doesn't sounds suspicious," Kidd then scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You sure we can even trust Trafalgar? Or Straw Hat in our hideout?"

"Straw Hat can't do any more damage than what Apoo did," Killer sighed as the masked blonde leaned against the wall, but then there was a small pause before he asked: "Right…?"

The three all exchanged somewhat nervous looks. Maybe having Straw Hat in their hideout wasn't the best of ideas, but couldn't go back on it now.

Killer then shook his head and continued on. "The worst is just a bit of property damage, not like he'll betray us. Straw Hat is too trusting for that considering his allied with Trafalgar probably due to the fact that he saved him at the height of the War. And I don't think Trafalgar will either, I have a gut feeling about it that he won't; something big for him is riding on the planning succeeding."

"_Hmph,_" Kidd grunted, moving his hands from behind his head to his stomach. "Whatever," he waved it aside; truthfully, he didn't care. "Even if shit that shouldn't happen goes down, I'll just kill 'im."

"Don't be cocky, Kidd." Killer warned bluntly. "Trafalgar isn't weak like you think he is. Just because you can take his weapon doesn't mean he won't have a dirty trick up his sleeve."

Kidd scowled coldly at his first mate. How dare that little, blonde pansy bastard...

Before the pair could argue anymore, or something worse happened, Chamberlain cut back in sharply. "_Ahem,_" the navigator cleared his throat loudly to snare their attention. "I have more to say," he told them calmly. "After I spoke with Trafalgar, I called Donavan, Owen and Block. Luckily they were either at or close to the hideout when I called, but they were really...confused. Kidd," the navigator turned to the redhead. "Did you ever tell them we made an alliance with Trafalgar and Straw Hat?"

Kidd was silent, blinking blankly at his navigator, his expression like an empty slate, but it was still readable nonetheless.

"I'll take that as a no," Chamberlain sighed, his shoulders dropping as he hung his head.

Killer placed a hand to his mask that covered his brow and then shook his head. "Anna is gonna be _pissed._"

* * *

><p>Anna's being pissed was an understatement. She was vividly furious when she heard that Kidd, unknowingly to her, made an alliance with the Heart <em>and<em> Straw Hat Pirates; in her little world, it was like a 'backstab' yet there was nothing really negative about it save for that Kidd forgot to tell them when it happened. But, no, Anna didn't see it like that. "_**You little fuck!**_" She screeched at the top of her feminine lungs, her body rigid and stiff as clenched fist trembled at her sides. "**What the fuck are you planning!**"

"_Planning?_" Kidd hissed furiously. "It should be _planting! **What the fuck did you do to my hideout, woman!**_" Kidd roared back with vein of fury pulsing on his brow as he towered over the shorter woman.

"_Answer my question, you fucker!_" Anna barked in return, making to attempt to answer until she got one first.

"Anna," Owen spoke up softly as he touched his wife's arm, trying to calm her.

"_Don't,_" Anna hissed venomously and ripped her arm from his grip, her eyes still locked into a deadly stare down.

Kidd never will noticed it before, but Owen was whipped. Though, it was different when the man was married. It was almost, _expected_ in a sense, compared to just dating and the man would get taunted. But, Kidd was over that phase in his life. Plus, it helped that Gabriella didn't try to stop the verbal argument and she merely stood by his side, an arm wrapped under Ezio's belly and the pup pressed to her hip. Yet, in the back of his mind, Kidd knew Gabriella would step between them if it came to violence or if the argument was getting in the way over business.

But Kidd doubted it would come to that; he was pissed, but_ not_ that pissed. He thought his hideout looked fine the way before; it almost looked like a haunted shipyard and people stayed clear of it. He personally saw ships come but then quickly turn around before getting too close; hence the reason _this_ was his hideout. Though now his beloved hideout that was a cluster fuck of broken ships was now covered in _trees_;**_ trees_**. Trees, to people, meant a sign of fucking life and drew people to dock because they wanted to see what is there for supplies, treasure or rest.

"_Why the fuck are there trees planted on my hideout!_" Kidd screamed the question to the woman that was testing his patience.

Anna scoffed, crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the redhead. "I was bored," was all she said.

Kidd inhaled sharply and frowned deeply as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. _Try not to murder Owen's wife, try not to murder Owen's wife_…he repeated over and over like a chant, hoping the spell would stop him. And it worked. Suddenly, he felt the soft touch of his summoner mage's finger tips on his arm and, like always, he instantly felt relaxed as the anger seemed to be swept away under the rug to explode at another thing at another time.

"Kidd we can worry about the trees later," Gabriella told him. "We need to get to the plan."

"She's right, Kidd," Killer agreed with a nod. "We need to get Donavan here, where is he?"

"Don't know," Oz shrugged his tiny shoulders from his perch atop of his captain's large shoulder.

"Err," Block grunted with furrowed brows of thought before shaking his head.

"I haven't seen him for a while now that I think about it…" Owen mumbled quietly as he tapped his chin, trying to recall the memories of the young captain.

"…I'm...right here," the uncharacteristic timid tone of the smooth talking captain came to ear, and Donavan stepped forward with his favorite lacky Token at his side.

Everyone stared at the captain; he been beaten to a pulp, or looked to have gone through a clothes wringing, or even worse, eaten by sharks. His skin was turning black and blue and his cheeks swollen and red to the point where his eyes were forced to squint. And his clothes, tattered and torn to shreds with droplets of blood staining what was left of his pants. As the masses took in the sight, they all looked to Anna, all thinking the same thing. She was indeed a cruel, torturous woman.

The woman first mate scoffed, rolling her eyes sharp with annoyance. "Wasn't me, you lot of fuckers."

"Then…who?" Owen questioned for the lot, staring at Donavan who looked to his feet in shame.

"Some woman dressed in red and wearing a mask in the library," Token answered for the wounded, both physically and in pride, captain. "She looked like she was a part of Hawkins's crew since they arrived at the same time. Donavan tried, well, be himself and she didn't like that and out of nowhere came this huge dog! I swear it looked like a _hellhound._"

Gabriella's eyes opened wide at the familiar words, the appearance and spell. "_Calamity?_ Why is Calamity here?" she looked over to Madeline, but the thin summoner mage just shrugged.

When the name of the magical being was heard by the stone devil in the background, Bedros popped up between Gabriella and Kidd, a cheeky smile on his face as he frantically looked back and forth among the people staring at him. "_Mommy? Mommy here?_" he asked jumpily and then he make a break for the hideout like a little child. "_**Mommy!**_"

Token's jaw went slack and he pointed to the fleeing stone devil in disbelief. "That chick is Bedros's_ mom?_" He asked, bewildered, and he was answered with a few nods from the Kidd Pirates. A look of mild disgust then distorted his face as his nose scrunched up and his brows knitted together. "Well, she just lost _a lot_ of sex appeal."

"I dig cougars," Donavan boasted despite his condition, and smirked weakly towards Anna, the smile making him cringe when his bruised cheeks moved.

Anna scolded at the young captain, her annoyed look snapped to rage, and with no remorse in her actions, she sent a fist to Donavan's face, knocking him down to the ground, unconscious.

There was a small string of silence as the watched Token try to wake his companion, but then the attention went to Gabriella as she broke it with a tiny cough. "Well," she cleared her throat. "I better see what Calamity wants." Then with a wave of her hand to the thin summoner mage behind her, she said: "Let's go, Maddie," and then the pair was off into the labyrinth that was the hideout.

Kidd watched them leave with a quirked brow; as curious as he was about the magical being there, he had his own demons to deal with. He had to tell his fleet more news other than the information about the new alliance, but also the new battle plans. _Oh hell_. Anna was going to flip her lid again for sure.

* * *

><p>Kidd propped his elbows up on the desk's surface and rested his head in his hands, the long mechanical fingers scratching the top of his head while his fleshy ones rubbed his aching forehead. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as stress started to fill his entire core. The preparations for battle rearing around the corner did not go well. He almost lost his head, twice courtesy of Anna; good thing his devil fruit came into play or else he would have been dead, a very long time ago in fact. He was still alive and kicking thought, which meant he had to carry out the job.<p>

Now it was just the waiting period for them all to show up, according to Cat Thief Nami, her crew would be there in a few short hours. Kidd felt it was going to be living hell when they came…and it was going to be the annoying, child-like living hell that was the worst kind. He could hear the overly happy shouts of Straw Hat now; it made him cringe. He saw what the rubber brat did to Law, clinging to his leg like a child. Swear to God, if Straw Hat did that to him...

He groaned, massaging his temples. He just had to _hope_ that wouldn't happen because Straw Hat was coming either way. It needed to happen, but he was not looking forward to it.

Then suddenly the door opened, which made Kidd think for a moment that it was Killer to give the...bad news: the Straw Hats had docked. But no, when Kidd turned. he saw that it was Gabriella standing in the doorway.

She said not a word, her expression unreadable as she stalked into the room slowly, her soles dragging along the floorboards. From first impressions, she looked to be upset and Kidd felt like he would be walking on eggshells for a bit. Though, as she got closer, he saw a look of deep thought on her features. She looked like a zombie as she came to his side, grabbing his mechanical arm and moving it so she could sit on his thigh and bury her nose into the crook of his neck.

Kidd blinked at her, confused and slightly. "What's wrong...? Somethin' happen?" He asked her as she hesitantly wrapped his metal arm around her lower back and his normal one around her shoulders, pulling her close to try and comfort her mood.

Gabriella nodded her head against his shoulder. "Yeah," she answered quietly, her hands gripping onto the fabric of his shirt. "The gem is done."

Kidd's brows furrowed; that felt familiar...but he couldn't put his finger on it. "What?"

Gabriella didn't answer him right away, her grip the only lively thing as her nails dug into the cloth and pulled it close to her chest and her breath started to get heavy and Kidd could have sworn he heard her heartbeat pounding from her eardrums. "It's time to kill Copy Cat," was all she said.


	104. Chapter 101: Plan in Motion

Velonica14: Killing the Straw Hats? Now, Kidd wouldn't do that...

Volleys-chan: Yeah, Token joined to piss off Kidd. xD And thank you for the edits~ I'll fix them when I can. :)

Certified Chocoholic: Reading in school? Naughty ducky, lol. xD

Girl-luvs-manga: Well, it wasn't going to be quick! xD

jonjames427: (Chapter 1) It does, it takes awhile, but it does.

Alpenwolf: The stress is lifted a bit this chapter...I think.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: No problem ducky, don't worry about. :p The chapter didn't have new things in there anyway, this one does though. xD

Hitoshirezu Ryu: The gem will be brought up here again, it's a bit of refresher since it's been a little over a year since it was brought up...

mks 12 98: Nanananana, Batman! ...Don't ask...lol.

Sorry for any mistakes that are in here...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 101: Plan in Motion.<p>

The gem was done.

Simple as that.

The tiny gem that was sent away by the Council long ago, the gem she left her quant home and small family to find, the gem that was located with the Marines and had its power drained to nothing but a tiny fizzle. The gem that was the key to killing Copy Cat was charged and ready to finally go.

It took months for the tiny, palm size blood stone to regain all the lost energy. It was always something that was in the back of her mind, but she never brought it to the surface. She wouldn't have a live outside of revenge and vengeance if her head worked as so. But now that it was time, it was all she could think about.

It was like when she found the gem; the time to end Copy Cat's reign of terror was so close that she could taste the devil's blood in her throat.

Calamity had relayed the message about the gem to her personally, which meant something in itself if Calamity came to her personally; she only did that when it was crucial emergency that couldn't be sent by secondary messenger. Though, there was still one thing that the summoner mage was confused on. This was a critical point in not only her mission, but the others. So, why weren't George and Mason present as well? They were involved just as much as she was and dedicated their lives, putting them on the line to stop Copy Cat. Apparently, Calamity had more news than just about the gem. Only she and Gabriella would be going, Madeline, Mason and George has been cut from the equations. Only the two of them would go and meet up with her brother, Sane, and also Mortalitas's new player in the game. The plans had changed drastically, which was quite the shock.

Bedros was more heartbroken than Madeline though. He always reverted back to the age of four when Calamity was around, and this time was no different; he was almost on the verge of tears due to the fact that he wouldn't be able to stay by his mother's side. He whined like a child into Calamity's bosom, upset that he couldn't protect her as well. Madeline, though, was still flustered with the situation. True she would get to stay with her 'Baby Killer', but hoes before bros. She wanted to protect her best friend and help her through the trial as much as she could, but if it was Mortalitas's will, then it had to be done.

That left her feeling rather alone. Sure she had Calamity, but she didn't know Sane well and she had no clue who this other person was, not yet anyway. Despite that fact, Gabriella tried to put that behind her while packing her tiny bag for the trip. Her little satchel with magic space was filled with all the essentials, giving everything to Musket as she handed one item after the other to her familiar. She probably didn't need tampons for the battle, but she had gotten into the habit of putting her closet and medicine drawer into her bag.

From behind, she could hear Kidd shifting where he stood hovering over her and he leaned a shoulder against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as his eyes stared at her pack.

When the last thing was given to Musket, she hooked the satchel to her belt. "Done," Gabriella huffed and then turned to Kidd, a weak smile on her lips as she slapped her palms to her sides. And there was an awkward moment of silence as Kidd merely blinked at her. "Well," she coughed and anxiously drummed her fingertips against her thighs. "It's time to get going..."

Kidd didn't reply right away and instead moved from his spot by the wall and stalked over to her side, his metal fingertips brushing through her locks of ginger hair. Then he whirled around to come face to face with her, grabbing her biceps and pulled her close so she was on her toes and her weight was in his hands. With a sigh, he rested his forehead to hers. "Be a good girl and don't do anything stupid."

Gabriella quirked a brow at his comment, and she eyed him with a glimmer of amusement in her golden eyes. "I could say the same for you," she chuckled lightly as she raised her hands to cup his cheeks, thumbs brushing over the warm, pale skin. "Be a good boy."

"But babe," he cooed with a small smirk. "I'm a bad boy to the core."

"And that's what I love about you." Gabriella added and she gave him a small peck to his lips, pulling away with a smile.

He leaned in for his own kiss and then pulled back, using his iron fingers to brush aside strands of ginger hair from her eyes. "Feel better?"

Gabriella smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek to his chest. Smiling, she answered with: "Yes."

* * *

><p>Kidd leaned to the side, his expression showing just how disturbed he felt being in this situation. It wasn't that Straw Hat was playing with a cat, calling the thing <em>The Ameria Substitute<em> at his War Table. No, it was not that. Nor, was it the fact that Donavan was having a sissy-fit about the fact that apparently Robin and Hawkins were dating—which Kidd didn't even know—since the Straw Hat archeologist was sitting on the fortune teller's chair's arm rest, and the woman said they were dating, which was a surprise to Hawkins himself, but he seemed to go with the flow. Strange as that was, it wasn't the think that made Kidd uncomfortable in his own hideout.

It was Franky, and Kidd tried to make as much distance between him and the Straw Hat shipwright that was too close for comfort.

It didn't help whatsoever.

"Noticed your arm the last time we met," the large cyborg mumbled in thought as he eyed Kidd's iron limb while a small hand from the center on his giant one popped out and poked the thick wires of the redhead's elbow joint. "This metal is fantastic! Some of the types haven't been seen in years, decades! Where did you get it?"

"Err... Gabriella found it..." Kidd told the cyborg slowly and shook his arm to try and give the guy a hint: _back off_.

Franky didn't get it at all and merrily continued to invade Kidd's personal space. "The whole thing, now? That's crazy man, but SUPER! Can I take a sample?" The cyborg then bluntly asked, with an eager grin.

"What?" Kidd asked with wide eyes, bewildered, taking in the information at rapid speed and trying to process it at the same time too. Then he shook his head, everything flashing before his eyes. "_Fuck no!_"

"_Come on, man!_" Franky pleaded and his little, second hand fingers trying to take a pinch at and old screw. "Just a bit—"

Then suddenly a crack rang through the air as a wrench came from nowhere, slapping against Franky's metal wrist, which made the cyborg coil back instantly.

"Don't touch my work!" Nick snapped protectively, his thick brows furrowing together angrily. "I heard from the Hearts that you screw things up when you touch them!"

"Never! Not super!" Franky shouted in offense. "I always work to make things better!"

"No you don't," Shachi and Penguin said in unison from their spot behind an empty chair left open for their captain, and the two of them glared towards the cyborg, the memories of what they did to their submarine not too far off in their minds.

Franky scoffed and turned his nose in the air. "Not super." He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned on his heel quickly and left the room in an annoyed huff.

Kidd then looked to Nick, nodding a small, silence thanks of appreciation for coming to stop the cyborg. Though, something caught his attention, which happened to be Apoo, who was staring at him with narrow eyes of thought. "What the fuck you lookin' at?"

"Hmm…" Apoo hummed in thought as he stroked his chin with slender fingers. "I thought you would be mad to see me…"

Kidd quirked a brow at the comment. "I'm always mad to see you, rat bastard," Kidd then scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't mean that…" Apoo trailed off, but then instantly sealed his lips when he got a glare from, believe it or not, Cat Thief Nami who was standing behind her captain the continued to cuddle the kitten in his hands.

Kidd glared suspiciously between the two; what the fuck is going on?

"Oh," Chamberlain then spoke up, seemingly in the loop and he leaned over to tell Kidd something that he should have done a long time ago. "The crew started to give their care to the two."

"Really?" Kidd inquired cautiously; this better not be going where he thought it was going.

"And they went into the _vault_," Chamberlain added.

Kidd's eyes opened wide. "You mean _thee vault?_"

"The very one," Chamberlain nodded.

Everyone would have thought Kidd's reaction was to flip the table and then attempt murder on the two that stole from him using his very own crew. Though, he did the exact opposite. He laughed. He threw his head back against the cushions of his chair as a hand went to his stomach to calm the trembling of his muscles. Everyone was clearly confused and left out of the loop save for the Kidd Pirates.

Apoo blinked at the redhead still laughing as he pounded a fist to the table in hysterics. "What's your problem…?" Apoo asked hesitantly, unsure if he wanted to know.

Kidd clearly could not answer, so Chamberlain was the one that replied. "Matt," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the man behind him. "He's our treasurer. He didn't trust the mass of new members to our crew so he made a fake vault with counterfeit beli."

Nami's jaw dropped to the ground. "That's impossible! I would have known if it was counterfeit! I can always tell when money is fake! I used it in every store and no one said anything either!"

"Not if you're Fraud Hatter," Chamberlain pointed out.

"Fraud Hatter?" Nami scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He's been dead for five years."

"He was missing and declared dead," was all Chamberlain said as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder to Matt once more.

Nami narrowed her eyes at the Kidd Pirate Treasurer and then she opened her eyes wide at the smirking man. "You're Fraud Hatter! In the flesh!"

"Damn straight," Matt nodded.

Nami slapped her hands to her cheeks, covering the red there as her jaw continued to hang low. Then she stated the unexpected. "I think I'm in love."

Before anyone could even comment about the proclamation, a flare of smoke from the hallway and in the grey mist was a furious Straw Hat cook. Sanji was breathing fire as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "NEVER AGAIN!" and then he hoisted Nami up and over his shoulder and dashed away, dust kicking up at his heels.

And as the smoke settled, the room saw that Trafalgar had finally entered, was also with a special guest, his contact that they have all heard about, yet knew nothing about. Law took a seat in the chair for him at the table while his contact sat in the empty seat between the doctor captain and Straw Hat. Once he was settled, Law spoke. "This is Manolia Benadeer," the doctor captain introduced bluntly with a hand gesture to the other man draped in black robes and a wolf cowl pulled over his head.

There was a moment of silence as the room processed the information and then they all screamed: "_**Ameria's Dad!**_" Which was the first thing everyone though, since the two had the same surname.

"Uncle," Benadeer and Trafalgar corrected in unison.

"Oh," they all mumbled, murmuring amongst themselves as they exchanged curious looks as they all sneaked glances at the wolf captain.

"So..." Zoro was the first to speak up clearly and focused directly at the new captain. "How are you going to help?"

"For one, I've held onto Caesar this entire time," Benadeer replied simply. "He's on my ship as we speak."

"I saw him myself," Law clarified with a nod.

"_Hmph,_" Zoro huffed with arms over his chest. "That's good," was all he said.

"So what's this plan you have in store?" Kidd then asked, finally calmed down from his laughing spree. "Will it even work?"

"Hmm, the cards tell me we shall survive." Hawkins told the table, still shuffling them as he spoke.

"What about wining?" Apoo attempted to get a clear answer.

The fortune teller captain blinked towards the musician captain. "What's the fun in that?"

"But—"

"_The plan,_" Kidd cut in sharply, glaring at the two before turning back to the wolf captain.

"Well, it's simple," Benadeer started to deal out the basics. "Trafalgar, Straw Hat and I will focus on Kadio using Doflamingo and Caesar while you and your fleet work on getting Big Mom against Kadio more than I have in the past week."

"What have you been doing?" Killer inquired warily, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have been attack the Kadio and Big Mom ships under the opposing flags. They are none the wiser."

Kidd chuckled with a large grin. "Smart."

"I have stolen their flags so you can hand them out to your fleet as well." Benadeer nodded to the redhead. "Though, we need to find an island where the two will meet. Zo is the one my first mate found to be a good location, but it needs to be..._cleared_. That's where Hawkins, Apoo and the rest of the Heart crew comes in. My first mate will lead you to the island and you are to clear and guard it until the time for the battle. If my calculations are correct, which they should be, the two Yonko will go there and duel it out."

"How are you sure?" Zoro questioned cautiously.

"I told you," Benadeer looked to the Straw Hat first mate. "I have been preparing for this. They will meet there, there are high chances of it."

"He's right," Hawkins agreed with a nod as he looked at his cards spread out on the tabletop. "The cards tell me so. Though," he then looked to Benadeer with a suspicious glare. "You are leaving something out."

"Heh," Benadeer chuckled lightly and leaned back in his seat. "Clever," he told the fortune teller. "Yes, I have one request," and he leaned forward, holding up two fingers. "Two Yonko, two seats. I get one of the open titles."

The captains exchanged somewhat hesitant looks at the demanded, and they all knew what they wanted to say, but for one.

Luffy had something else in mind, and he looked away from Glory in his hands and to Benadeer beside him. "Okay," Straw Hat easily said. "Because I'm going to be King!"

The captains of the alliance all lost their wary looks and scowled at the rubber one, irritated with the bold statement. The tension was high and an argument was about to break out even though they all knew it would be counterproductive.

"Well," Killer cleared his throat abruptly to draw the attention back to the present important issue, not the future one. "For the better of the alliance, I believe this will work. You will get your title."

"That's all I ask," was all Benadeer said.

"So, we got a plan then, eh?" Kidd smirked slightly. "Looks like this alliance wasn't as much of a pain in the ass as I thought."

"But the name is a pain in the ass," Luffy blurted out. "The Luffy-Law-Kidd-Apoo-Hawkins-Benadeer Alliance is too long."

"...you just made that up." Zoro pointed out.

Straw Hat ignored him in bliss, a smile on his lips that reached ear to ear. "We should come up with a new name!"

"Yeah?" Apoo smirked. "Like what?" He mused.

Luffy grinned brightly. "The King's Alliance!"

* * *

><p>"It's my fault. I let Copy Cat go."<p>

Rage. All Gabriella felt was rage and Kidd's habit of seeing red and acting before thinking had rubbed off on her and she lashed out on the bone mage in a fit of fury. With all her strength, she slung her hand across Ameria's cheek at full force. She watched as the bone mage's head jerked to the side roughly and he blue eyes open wide at the pain as a bright red mark started to from on her cheek. "_Are you stupid!_" Gabriella shouted at the top of her lungs, stomping her foot to the ground, so the mud sloshed up ungracefully and spattered against every surface it could. "_Your mother is one of the best warlocks on the entire island and you, her daughter, let out the deadest devil, the only X-ranked demonic force on the charts, in the world! What were you thinking!? Have you lost your mind? To what? Power, fame or what? What, Ameria? What!_"

"Gabriella," Calamity called to her student.

The summoner mage knew the tone of her teacher and instantly relaxed, calming her rage so she had a clear mind. But there was still angry rushing through her blood. She made have stepped back, to give breathing room for an explanation, but her fist were still clenched at her sides, trembling like fangs ready to strike out yet again if she needed to.

"Roland Gabriella," Sane then spoke up, his tone an annoyed huff as he leaned all his weight on one foot and his knuckles rested against his hip. "She was just as much as a pawn as Caden was. You of all people should know that the best."

Gabriella's eyes opened wide, the words hitting a cord that traveled and she looked away with closed, ashamed of her actions. She should have known there was a reason behind it and should have allowed Ameria to speak. Ameria wasn't stupid, like her Ohdan wasn't either; they were only both pawns in a plan much bigger than they thought or knew. She looked back to the bone mage, her eyes gleaming with sincere apology. "Sorry, Ameria…" she murmured softly. "I…it's just a deep wound."

Ameria smiled at the summoner mage, placing a hand on the ginger's shoulder. "Don't worry about it," she waved it aside like water on a duck's back. "I deserved it in a way. But we have a bigger thing to worry about, right? It's time to mend those deep wounds of ours."


	105. Chapter 102: The Factory Phase

Velonica14: Haha, don't worry about it. xD I know what you mean. :p And I'm glad you like my alliance name. xD

Alpenwolf: It did…but they all want to be King…why have the Yonko seat. xD

arodli91: Sanji will do anything to make sure Nami isn't 'kidnapped' like Robin and Ameria were. xD

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I totally made up that alliance name. Robin could be doing it because she knows it annoys Sanji…or she does like Hawkins… The world will never know.

Certified Chocoholic: Thank you for liking the chapter. It was a fun one to write…unlike this one.

mks 12 98: Yeah, it's nice and compacted. xD

Hitoshirezu Ryu: xD That's the rundown of epicness…maybe a little. xD

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 102: The Factory Phase.<p>

The night was cool and cloudy, a grey film hovering over the rough waters lapping at the smooth wood of the Kidd Pirate ship. The fog was thick from the dreary weather, the air still lingering with fresh aroma from the down pour that happened only a few minutes ago. There was little light safe for that of the moon which was allowed to see past the indefinite edges of the dense clouds tossed away by the wind. The crew was silent, a rare occasion for the usually rowdy bunch. The men usually were restless at times like this, but tonight was different. They rested against the railing or sat atop of barrels and crates that cluttered the deck, and they watched the island from their advantage point to observe for any activity out of the norm.

For hours, the crew observed no changes in the flickering small lights of the island's houses and main attraction, the factory. No alarms, no large ships sailing off or docking at port; not a thing. It was safe to go, but they had to be positive. They might have been shielded by the cove of monstrous rocks surrounding the ship, but they could never be too sure when it came to the dealings of a powerful Yonko's fort.

Big Mom's Fleet would be on high alert more than usual because for days, Kidd's Fleet had followed the plans confirmed back at the hideout. With the help of Benadeer's crew, Wolverine Skull, Kidd distributed Kadio flags to his fleet commanders and they passed of the bundles of singed black fabric to each crew present at the hideout, giving them a a 'new' banner to wave for just a short week. Day, after day since then, his fleet had attacked Big Mon ships under the disguise of Kadio's Jolly Roger.

The Big Mom Fleet was none the wiser, as Benadeer told them, and they thought this was truly the act of the other Yonko due to the recent argument over one little island. Nonetheless, Big Mom's Fleet started to counter attack by sinking the innocent Kadio ships. The tension was high the two and the world was aware of it all, the Marines on their toes more than the civilians; they had to fight and then clean up the pieces, win or lose.

Though, by the time the new King's Alliance was through, the Marines wouldn't have had a chance to join the battle, if everything went according to plan. And that was getting ahead of the plan; one step at a time so they didn't mess up. It was time to pull the rug out from under the Yonko's feet and make Big Mom truly explode on Kadio and send them both to Zo, the soon-to-be island where history would be made.

Kidd stepped closer to the railing of his ship and gripped wood tightly from the anticipation for the upcoming scheme. Pursing his lips, the gears of his mind whirled in deep thought. So many questions, the most important being how they got to the island and if it would work at all. Things had been going smoothly so far…almost _too_ smoothly.

"We must get onto the island." Nuadha, Benadeer's first mate, stated the obvious. The first mate from the Wolverine Skull Pirates had accompanied them to guide them to Big Mom's favorite factory, the building that held her largest treasure cove of candy.

"We can't dock," Kidd decided to be just as blunt, the stress from pressure was growing on him like a bad rash, and he was just itching for relief, as in a happy end.

"And I doubt taking the dinghy will be a good idea either," Killer added his two cents.

Kidd flinched and he slowly turned his head towards Killer at his side, scowling irritably at his first mate. "I hate that word. It sounds so stupid."

Killer scoffed and tossed his head to the side, a small motion that signaled he was rolling his eyes from behind his mask. "Not now, Kidd," the masked blonde snapped, annoyed with his captain's petty comment. He ignored Kidd's ever narrowing glare and focused his attention back on Nuadha. "Anyway, how do you suggest we get there? You're not a summoner mage by chance…"

"…Don't you have a summoner mage on board?" Nuadha glanced towards Madeline the thin summoner mage quietly sitting atop the railing, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

"No," was all Killer said.

"…" Nuadha said nothing in reply. "Well," he continued on. "Afraid not," he shook his head, his blonde hair swaying back and forth at his pale cheeks. "I'm a terra mage, an earth mage."

"Well," Kidd scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning back on his heels. "That doesn't help every much, now does it."

"Actually," Nuadha pressed his lips together and advanced to the edge of the railing, his hand instantly glowing a deep bronze. "It helps more than you think…" and with a wave of his hands to the sky, the water's surface began to tremble.

It was noticeable, yet only to those who knew what was going on; to the enemy pirates of the island, it would only look like a New World phenomenon; nothing to truly worry about. But in reality, it was. In seconds, a rock bridge rose from the depth of the black waters, a winding, twisted path of solid earth still dripping with sea water and covered in sand. It disappeared into the heavy fog, but it was still clear as day that the pathway connected the ship to the shore.

Kidd went back to the railing where his crew had collected in awe, and he leaned over, whistling lowly under his breath. "Wow, I guess that _is_ handy…" he admitted quietly, astonished at the power of the earth mage.

"And you can do that _anywhere?_" Killer questioned, glancing curiously towards the earth mage.

"Not in the middle of the sea," Nuadha replied easily. "The depths are too unpredictable, but when I'm close to an island, I can make the bridges…to a certain point."

"It's good enough," Killer nodded shortly and then moved the conversation on to the important task at hand. "How many of us are going?"

"A small group," Nuadha answered and looked between Kidd and Killer. "Four, and I'd ask if we can bring the stone devil. His magic essence will help my power, and vice versus."

"Alright," Kidd nodded, understanding the request. "Bedros!" the redhead called to the stone devil that sulked in the corner. "Get your ass over here!"

Bedros made no attempt to move from his spot, the stone devil still upset about being left behind by Calamity and Gabriella. He was acting like a mere child in timeout and it was an aggravating sight to no end.

Kidd let out a long breath of air from his nostrils, annoyed with the stone devil's mood. Then, he looked to his first mate, jerking his head towards the kill-joy. "Killer," was all he said.

"Got it," the masked blonde nodded and then took long strides over to the stone devil and forcibly grabbed him by the collar, dragging him along the floor from his corner.

"_No! I don't wanna go!_" Bedros screeched in protest, digging his heels into the boards of the deck and clawing at the masked blonde's hands for release. "_Lemme go! Lemme go!_" he continued to shout his discomfort, but Killer did not listen, and at the railing, the masked blonde showed no mercy. "_**Wahh!**_" and threw the stone devil overboard onto the beginning of the stone bridge.

Nuadha sighed and shook his head at the antics of captain and first mate, but said nothing of it and moved on. "Let's us continue on. We cannot delay."

* * *

><p>The walk across the magical stone bridge was uneventful, the four trudging along the crooked path so if the enemy were to find it at shore, the crew would be safe for a while. It was silent, and there were nearly there and it seemed like it would be a breeze, until Bedros ruined the smooth ride.<p>

There was a patrol ship sailing the shallow waters of the island, the lanterns are what gave the silent men and women away, which also gave Nuadha time to make a break in the bridge. The small vessel drifted by without a second thought to suspicious activity.

Until Bedros _sneezed_.

Of course it wasn't on purpose, but it make Kidd bat crazy about being caught that he slammed his iron hand over Bedros's mouth, the force surely forming a terrible purple bruise and the stone devil let out a lone whimper of pain.

Though in agony as tears swelled at the corner of his eyes, Bedros remained utterly still after the initial soft cry of pain as the shouts of the Big Mom Pirates rang in the distance, the warning yells getting closer and closer. More lanterns eliminated the waters, the yellow circles sliding over the surface like ice, the spotlights frantically to look for the object that caused their suspicion to rise to an all time high.

The small vessel got so close that the group could see the wary expressions on the men that guarded the railings, their bushy brows knitted together and the Jolly Roger of their crew printed on the chest pockets of their pristine black suits. They held out the lanterns as hard as they could to search the bay waters, which made Nuadha inched back, the soles of his feet making not a sound as he held out an arm to signal Kidd and Killer to do the same.

The young pirates did no such thing though; they stood their ground. Killer reached for this blades strapped to his hip and with an almost inaudibly _click_, his duel swords were attached to his gauntlets, prepared for the worse. Kidd, on the other hand, used the enemies 'distract' to his advantage. With the Big Mom Pirates, focused fully on the waters, the redhead raised his free hand and spread his fingers out wide as purple spark of magnetism bubbled to the surface of his skin. The faint, violet light didn't go unnoticed by the enemy pirates, and they shouted to the one manning the wheel, ordering him to follow the sight.

Nuadha whirled his head around to scowl darkly at Kidd for being so careless, but the redhead ignored the older pirate and concentrated on his work.

Chains draped over the weak railing of the small vessel were the target of his burst plan, and the metal bent to his will, uncoiling and rising like snakes from their setting place. Then with a tiny flick of his wrist, the flare of his devil fruit traveled down his arm and the chain from afar lashed out at high speeds and wrapped around a rock off in the distance. The action caused the vessel to jerk with the motion, causing the enemy men to panic for a mere moment.

Kidd then shoved Nuadha in the back, whispering harshly under his breath: "_Go!_"

Though flustered and upset at the redhead's moronic actions, the earth mage did what the order implied and remade the rock bridge. Then, the four sprinted as fast as their legs could take them, but it was not enough as the light flickered across their forms. It was quick, but if the enemy every connected the dots, it was unknown; the only thing that changed was the island was now on high alert.

Large, bright spotlights perched atop the high walls of the candy factory flashed on and soared the cloudy skies and waters, zooming across the sandy beaches where the four currently stood, but with the help of the combined magical effort of Bedros and Nuadha, they created a rock dome that shielded their presences from the enemy. For the moment at least, they could fool a man with a light in the distance, but not a man right next to the fraud boulder.

Though, they used the time to lay low until the chance was right. But, before that, Nuadha had to get something off his chest.

"_Eustass,_" he snapped sharply, the bronze orbs of his magic casting darker shadows to his scowling expression. "You need to be more careful! It is best not to let the men suspect that it was _you_. You're already on Big Mom's target list and they know your abilities and trademark looks."

"He's right Kidd," Killer agreed with the earth mage. "We have to be sneakier about this."

"Alright, alright…" Kidd put his hands out in defense, but he still rolled his eyes in annoyance at the pair. "This'll be no fun, _hmph._"

Kidd was ignored because an argument was not going to help them in the slightest. Nuadha took his chance of taking down their rock shield, the spotlights were still searching for intruders and the white circle was closing in on them once more. Not a word was needed as the four rushed from their spot and made a mad dash for the dense forest for cover. For once since the journey started, they didn't get caught and were safe in the underbrush.

"To the factory," Nuadha directed in a soft tone and pointed towards the large, industrial building.

"You got the bombs, right?"

"Yeah," Kidd nodded and moved the heavy fur of his coat away so a large bag could be seen. "Jacques made a special one. Last time we came across a Marine Warship, before we sank it, we got a nice load of explosives. This stuff is packed and will make this place soar!" and Kidd grinned wickedly, licking his lips at the images forming within in his mind like a film on screen.

"You're a little _too_ excited 'bout this, aren't ya?" Bedros commented warily as he shifted back and forth on his heels, still nursing his bruised nose.

"He isn't the only one," Killer admitted anxiously.

"I'm curious myself…" Nuadha mumbled quietly.

"Looks like you're the odd man out, Bedros." Kidd chuckled, grinning mockingly towards the stone devil.

"Shuddup Kidd…" Bedros grumbled angrily. "Or I'll tell Abbie you're being mean."

"Ha," Kidd laughed dryly, mildly amused by the threat. "Like she'll do anything."

"I'm sure—"

"_The bomb,_" Killer cut them off.

"Oh. Yeah. Right," Kidd blinked blankly toward his first mate. "Let's get to that."

* * *

><p>The small explosion in the distance lit up the night, turning the grey clouds a bright orange and brilliant shade of red. The blaze in the distance was tiny, and the sound was just as puny and the trail of smoke couldn't even be seen with all the clouds covering the stars and moon. But, that was alright; it was the signal fire that Kidd and the others made it safely into factory and ready to send it sky high, also, the needed Madeline to give them a quick getaway.<p>

"_Madeline!_" Heat called to the summoner mage that awaited on the sidelines for her orders, uncharacteristically quiet, yet it was understandable, but still, not important at the moment. "Open the portal!"

The thin summoner mage nodded and used her magic waving her hands wildly as gold light caused the vortex to open wide. Bedros was the first to jump out of the colorful gateway, the stone devil wide eyed with mild fear as he held onto his cowboy hat and then darted behind Wire for safety. Killer and Nuadha appeared next, the masked blonde as cool as a cucumber with hands stuffed into his pockets nonchalantly, but the earth mage looked flustered, which more than likely had to do with Kidd and Killer's tactics considering how Bedros was reacting.

Lastly came Kidd, the redhead strutting like an evilly happy blaze of fire through the vortex with a grin that reached from ear to ear. Then he turned to look at the small flame and held out his hand, his fingers curled around the trigger and this thumb hovering over the red button. "_Boom,_" was all he said and his thumb smashed the button.

The large explosion was triggered, and the earth trembled causing the waves to rock the ship violently back and forth. The thundering crash and crackle of warping metal could be heard for mile as the building turned into nothing but a huge ball of fire that reached limits that the sky couldn't even hold. A puff of smoke followed the flames, the thick gases taking the shape of a mushroom cap that continued to grow in size at it got higher and higher into the sky.

"_Ha, ha, ha!_" Kidd laughed wildly with his arms held out wide and his head thrown back to look at his masterpiece of chaos. "_That was a __**blast.**_"

"Stupid pun," Killer huffed.

Kidd inhaled sharply and growled, whipping his attention to the masked blonde. "_Shut up, Killer._"

"_Hmph,_" Killer scoffed and tossed his head gently to the side before ignoring Kidd and looking to the earth mage. "You know…this was easier than I thought. Once we got inside, there weren't as many guards as I thought there would be."

"Probably because of my mad distraction skills," Kidd proudly huffed.

Killer brushed off Kidd's comment like it was dust on his shoulder and continued his current thought. "I felt like something bad should have happened, but nothing did."

"Maybe we were just lucky," Nuadha shrugged, unsure.

"I bet all the bad luck went somewhere else." Killer guessed.

"I hope it was on Trafalgar's end," was all Kidd said.


	106. Chapter 103: He's gone

Certified Chocoholic: Thank you. :) And you are the 600th review, so you get a mini! Yay~!

Alpenwolf: I'm sure Kidd got out of there unhamred...more of less.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: That's what best friends do...they bust each other's chops! :D!

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Ha...ha...the fight on Zo...I'm sure it will be epic...*walks away slowly*

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

**P.S. Bones and His Heir are similar, but I had my beta for Bones read only Bones. So, some corrections might have been caught in Bones, but not His Heir. I'm sorry for this if I don't get them all.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 103: He's gone.<p>

Through the rain and mud, the small minions created by necromancy deity sluggishly moved the entranced grandmaster from the tiny shelter under a rock to the circle. The tiny white masked creatures where like ants carrying a massive piece object from one place to a next. Aichki never woke from his deep slumber filled with pain as his body was gently set upon the summoning circle, right in the center of the detailed design.

The circle was crude, drawn like a child would with crayon on paper, but its purpose still held firm to its purpose.

Gabriella stood off to the sidelines with the bone mage beside her, trying her best to remain calm, yet her body was pulsing with anxiety. Her fingers twitched on the hilt of her Ohdan's dark blade, ready for the first sign of suspension, ready for battle. She couldn't kill the devil's host, Copy Cat would have just jumped the gun at the last minute, deeming the action as useless as the devil escaped once more. The summoner mage had a dark sensation bubbling in the core of her gut that the devil would be more than pleased if that happened.

Instead, she pushed all thoughts that would affect her for the upcoming war; she had to be focused on one thing and one thing alone: stop Copy Cat.

Calamity's bare toes wiggled in the mud at the edge of the circle, her pale skin stain brown as clumps of sticky dirt clung to her ankles and feet. The summoning deity took a deep breath in and then out, her large chest rising and falling gracefully as she held her arms out wide and tilted her head back to look up at the heavy hair drenching her long ebony hair. She chanted a small spell under her breath, the words soft as she spoke in her devil's tongue. Her pale hands were engulfed in gold light, the hue a vivid shade like a burning torch that instantly brought a heavy aura to the already heavy atmosphere of the island.

The winds of the storm dramatically picked up, howling like a pack of starving wolves chasing their next juicy meal. The sudden blast of harsh air rushed through the loose fabric of her crimson dress and her long, wet ebony hair was like wisps of wild snakes dancing in the visible motion. The grey clouds with an eerie green tint produced, a crackle of lightning the color of old bronze, the magical energy hitting the outer edges of the circle in three different places. Sparks the color mold and the sea mixed together as the power from the pulsing lightning pounded the craving of the circle in the mud, flooding the grooves with bronze liquid that looked like boiling metal in a blacksmiths workshop. The glowing liquid trickled down each lane, connecting the dots of the circle until the entire thing was filled.

Then Calamity shuttered violently, her stance withering away as she cut the power off and regained her composure. She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, slicking back the wet bangs of her hair away from her mask, and she glanced to her brother, nodding.

It was time.

Sane nodded in return and then looked at the vessel still clutched in his hand. His long red nails dug into the skull's surface, the long, yet soft screech drowned out by the rain as a deep frowned formed on his lips. He bit his lower lip till it bled; Copy Cat may be his mortal enemy, the being he wanted to see dead more than another in the world, but he never would bring his child into this, especial his youngest and the one most influenced by the devil due to her mother's frail soul. Yet he shook off his fatherly concerns. This was something bigger that he couldn't control and then best he could do was protect his daughter to the best of his ability. Putting Lin up to the plate was not ordeal—and as a father he was downright against it—but for the greater good and stopping Copy Cat, it had to be done.

It was Mortalitas's will.

With a heavy sigh, his shoulders rise and then fell drastically as he placed a hand over the face of the vessel, covering the empty eyes and nose sockets with a single hand glowing a pitch black. "_Come,_" was all he whispered in a tiny breath, his hand slowly peelings from the skull's smooth surface and pulled the essence of his youngest from within. White blended with his black magic like water and vinegar, never mixing together. The white magic turned into a tiny orb of light that dripped from the palm of his hand to the ground like the raindrops all around him. Then from the soft glow the image of Lin was formed, the tiny toddler in her little white dress that matched the pigment of her snowy colored skin.

The toddler stood in the rain, her white hair instantly soaked just like the fabric of her dress and she quivered in the cold. Sticking her lower lip out in a pout, her hands covered her tiny head to try and shield it from the rain. "_Daddy~_" she whined, rushing over to his side and buried her nose into the fabric of his pants, trying to use his body like an umbrella.

Sane put a hand on top of little Lin's head and ruffled her damp ivory locks to comfort her. "You have a big job to do sweetie." Sane told her softly, an uncharacteristic side of him peeking through his trickster personality, but it was a tiny light of his fatherly side showing. Then he picked his daughter up and held her in his arms as he walked along the outer edge of the circle across. "Just follow what Daddy and Auntie, okay sweetie?" Sane continued to tell her with a small smile before he placed her in spot. "Alright?" and Lin nodded slowly in reply. "Good," and then he took his place at the circle's edge.

The ritual was about to commence, the three deities preparing to extract the devil from the grandmaster's soul. Calamity and Sane held their hands out to the side, and Lin hesitantly did the same, following them both closely. The toddler watched every move the other two made, observing as her father and aunt called forth their magic to their hands held out wide. The black color of Sane's magic had the darkness sucked from the vivid glow, the shade turning necromancer's grey while Calamity's hands still burned summoner's gold. Little Lin's lips quivered as she reluctantly used her magic, memories of the past rising to the surface of what she could do if it was not under control; she could go insane. The black energy flickering on the tips of her fingers as she tried to use it, the flare like a dying fuse that turned off and on, but it seemed to be enough to start the ritual.

The combined power of the three, the magic of the dark arts under the rule of Mortalitas, flowed from their hands in a visible aura that caused the stormy clouds above to twist around them like a typhoon, like they were in the eye of the storm. The wisps of dark magic, the grey, black and glow, blended together, flowed together from the deities' hands to the grandmaster laying in the center of the circle. Aichki twisted and turned in his sleep, sweat trickling down his twitching brow as the magic swarmed like a pack of bees. Then suddenly the three hues flashed to the color of all copper, a bronze film coating the skin of the grandmaster. The odd mist bubbled up like yeast in bread, but then something went wrong.

Lin screamed in pain when a spasmodic burst of uncontrollable power that caused an explosion to erupt before her tiny hands and the force knocked the toddler right off her feet.

Gabriella could never be one to let a child go uncomforted when hurt, and she jerked forward, but then the force field of power created by the combined power of the deities made her stop in her tracks. This was magic she didn't want to get in the center of and she had to hold back, even if it made a bit of her motherly side die inside her heart.

"_**Lin!**_" Sane yelled through the roar of strong winds and heavy rain, worry laced thickly in his loud tone and the action caused a chain reaction of him loosing focus, which unbalanced the magic scale even more.

"_Sane!_" Calamity screeched to her brother as her body trembled from the unequal disruption of power. "Focus! I cannot handle this on my own!" the summoning deity cried as her body withered like life itself was being sucked from her very soul.

The lack of communion caused the worst for Aichki, the grandmaster going into a fit of pain. The bronze cloud wrapped around his body turned to crimson flames, flaring wildly in the wind and the rain did not douse the flame. Aichki screamed bloody murder, his back arching to the whim of the agony as a hand went to his heart, like the organ would burst from his chest.

_Master!_" Ameria shrieked in pure terror and jerked forward, but was quickly stopped by Gabriella.

She grabbed the bone mage's arm and pulled her back, wrapping her arms around the quivering Ameria in a tight embrace. "_Don't!_" The summoner mage snapped harshly, yet with concern in her tone. "I know all you want to do is help; I wanted to help Lin when she was hurt, but…this is a trio you don't mess with when they are at full power."

"_**Cut it off!**_" Sane roared at the top of his lungs, and with a flick of his wrists, the magic snapped away from his hands, and Calamity was quick to follow.

The summoning deity shook the gold flames from her hands as she fell to her knees in a fit of exhaustion. "That didn't work," Calamity huffed, speaking the obvious as she sat back on her heels. "What's next? The sacrifice?"

Sane breathed in and out heavily, his arms swinging limply at his sides as his shoulders hunched forwards. "Yes," he nodded weakly. "I'll bring forth one of animations to use as the sacrifice. It should work…if the blood amount is large enough."

"That doesn't sound comforting," Calamity commented dryly and stood up, attempting to dust the clumps of mud from her dress. "But it seems that there is little we can. So. Then let's be on with this."

Sane pursed his lips and nodded before he looked to Lin. "Follow what we do," he told her, and Lin merely nodded, wiping her eyes of tiny tears, pain and fear being replaced with determination.

It was time to begin plan B; the first step was to slaughter the sacrificial lamb. With tiny wave of his hand and a shout in the ancient tongue of the death, Sane summoned the lamb, a giant undead beast, one of his oldest creations. The animation was technically not alive like a true living being, but it had flowing blood in its veins, which is what the ritual called for.

The massive beast took lazy strides into the circle and stood over the grandmaster still sweating in his sleep. With the sacrifice in place, Sane's gaze went between his sister and youngest daughter, and he saw that they were ready.

The power of their magic came to their hands once more, the colors of gold, grey and black forming into wispy tentacles at their bare feet and rose up like vines sprouting in the artificial bright light of copper. The deities' magic evolved in power and the ground trembled at the force, causing the two mages outside the circle to stumble where they stood. The quaking increased, becoming harsher and harsher until the mud before the deities' feet burst like landmines were planted underneath.

Three large arms arose from the earth, each one a different theme, a theme that best resembled the deities. Before the feet of Sane was a large skeletal hand with joints that creaked and ground together when it moved, dust drifting away in the violent winds of the storm. Though, the skeletal hand could not compare to the ones created by Lin and Calamity. Lin's creation was covered in rotting black flesh that looked as if it were put through a meat grinder as bone was exposed and skin was loose and flapping in the course winds. And Calamity's masterpiece was the tallest, with crimson skin that had bronze tattoos inked into the dark flesh. The limbs that sprouted from the ground moved it a whimsical way, even when the themes were based on evil and death. The multiple fingers stretched out and curled in as the palm hovered of the necromancy deity's animation.

Then each hand jerked up, flicking their wrists to expose open palms that swarmed with black magic that wild and frantic from being pent up in a constricting orb. The black magic the jetted out long and the fingers of all types dung into the pure energy, the power bursting into different weapons. The large skeletal hand clutched with its boney fingers an equally body blade made of dusty cartilage with a deadly sharp point that could pierce metal. The rotting fingers of the monstrous hand created by Lin was gripping sharp glass of a makeshift shank that cause black goo to ooze from the skin cut from the blade. Then the demon claw gripped an elegant dagger tightly, the hilt a decorative silver that had emeralds embedded in the iron-ore and the blade gleamed the same eerie green cast from the unnatural storm raging overhead.

Then, in the blink of an eye as green lightning flashed in the background against the grey clouds, casting a dark shadow, the daggers hailed down with the rain, causing blood to pour down on them in a flash blood.

The screech of death roared through the atmosphere, the terrible shriek bursting eardrums as the giant beast was pierced through the heart three different was. Blood clashed down like a waterfall atop of the grandmaster, but Aichki was saved even more discomfort as the beast tittered backwards and laid on the ground rather than the mage. The grandmaster's form soaked in iron liquid, but then the crimson coat started to bubble, the heat turned the red hue to a bright gold that defined the laws of gravity as droplets flowed upward. The small, milky orbs turned tense as a dozen turned into thousands. And then, _he _appeared.

It was Copy Cat.

The devil stood in the center of the circle with a relaxed aura, his rich purple robes of royalty and his crimson hair never losing volume under the rain as the wind tossed it a bout lazily. The smug smirk on his lips when just as nonchalant as his stance; he didn't have a care in the world. He felt no danger. "_'Ello, Mother,_" Copy Cat voice was bitterly sweet that it was sickening, and he curtly nodded to Calamity, the devil bowing mockingly to the summoning deity.

Calamity grimaced darkly at the devil, her body rigid from seeing her creation, her child. But, she didn't get a word.

The rage boiling over in Sane's gut finally exploded from seeing the longtime archenemy. The necromancy deity charged the devil with a battle cry, but Copy Cat easily dodged the attack. The devil leaped from his spot over the unconscious grandmaster and flipped through the rain and he skidded through the murky mud when his feet were grounded.

"_Well,_" Copy Cat huffed in amusement, an ever growing sneer on his lips. "_Lovely to see you, too, Uncle._"

"**Don't you **_**dare**_** call me that!**" Sane hissed through his clenched jaw, his sharp teeth grinding together as she spoke the words that were just as venomous as a snake's. "**We are **_**not**_** related.**"

"_Hmph,_" Copy Cat scoffed, yet he never lost the grin craved in his entertained expression. "_Say as you wish, but that is not of importance, now is it,_" and he looked over to the mages, smiling softly with mock courtesy. "_Oh. Well, if it isn't the little Roland,_" he mused with a glimmer shining in his crimson eyes."_Caden's mask is my greatest piece, too bad he paid such a terrible price… Don't you think he might have went overboard?_"

"Shut up!" Gabriella shouted, trembling with rage as she whipped out her blade. She clutched the hilt under her knuckles turned white. There was nothing that would have made her happier than to charge the beast that stood before her, but she held her ground. Copy Cat was a manipulative beast that wanted her to let her revenge burst and her focus disappear; she wouldn't allow him the luxury.

"_I'd love to,_" the devil replied. "_But I have something else to say…_" Copy Cat trailed off, turning his attention to the bone mage. "_Thank you, dear little Ameria, for your help with finding the mask pieces that your teacher to so rude sent away using my own magic. Though, now that I'm free, I believe that your…services are no longer needed. There can be no survivors for my plan, a larger scheme I have up my sleeve. I hope you understand._"

Ameria was confused just like Gabriella was, neither of them knowing what to say. They grasped the no-survivors concept rather well**, **but what the devil meant about the larger scheme; what exactly did Copy Cat want to do and how did it tie into collecting masks? Though, Sane and Calamity seemed to be in the loop of the larger scheme, but before the deities could even get a word in against the thought, the devil spoke again.

"_Now…_" Copy Cat clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "_Your teacher is the one that needs to fall first, sadly, since this is his mask, after all. You're just unwanted package as of now. But, no hard feelings. This journey into the outside world was a blast. So, goodbye and so long,_" and he charged, fingers curled to make his nails simmer like sharp blades.

Copy Cat ignored that Sane was still standing by the grandmaster's paralyzed form, and the devil made a beeline for Aichki, the mud never slowing his speed. But Sane was just as quick, the necromancy deity intercepted the devil in a flash, blocking the path with his body and with a hand shrouded in his trademark black magic, he raised an arm and then brought it down just as fast, rammed the side of his hand down onto Copy Cat's head.

The force combined with dark magic was powerful and brutal, the attack slicing through the devil. There was the sickening slick sound of skin peeling apart at the seams and the brittle crack of bones giving way to the pressure. And Copy Cat was split in two. Yet there was no gory, no blood flying, no organs soaring; it's not that easy to kill a devil like Copy Cat.

The two halves of the devil laughed in unison, the same voice disjointed as the exposed halves of the devil's body should have been dripping blood and revealing broken bone and tattered muscle. It was like the devil was an amoeba, cloning itself into two perfectly identical forms.

"_Nice try,_" the first Copy Cat clone smirked as the gold mist fleshed out into a perfect whole.

"_But you have to be smarter than that,_" the second clone mocked.

"_We all know you can't comprehend that,_" the first clone chuckled darkly.

"_And you're not that fast either…_" the second glanced to the first knowingly before dashing away further into the island.

"_**You bastard!**_" Sane roared and followed the bait, rushing after the devil. "_Ameria!_" Sane then shouted in the distance. "_C'mon!_" and the bone mage was hesitant to follow and leave her master, and she shifted awkwardly on her feet. But Sane didn't let up. "_**Ameria!**_" Sane barked again.

"Ameria," Gabriella then spoke up. "Help Sane. Calamity and I will make sure your teacher isn't hurt in the crossfire. Sane will need help with fighting Copy Cat, even as a clone. So go," and the summoner mage sent a stern glare towards the bone mage.

Then Gabriella slowly turned her head back towards the devil that stood way too cockily for her likes. Copy Cat huffed, hands on his hips proudly as he held his chin high, looking down upon her with narrow crimson eyes. Then the devil glanced the side, his gaze locked on the grandmaster's body in the mud.

Then in a blink of an eye, red flashed before their eyes, the fabric obscuring their view before it was gone in the fray of colorful lights, and so was Aichki.

Copy Cat blinked, a puzzled expression on his face for a mere moment before it turned into a smug smirk. "_Heh,_" he chuckled smoothly. "_Mother is a smart one that she is._"

Gabriella said not a word; the time to exchange words with the devil was over a long time ago. With a threatening aura swarming her person, her body tensed into an offensive position like a predator ready to strike.

An amused gleam appeared in Copy Cat's crimson eyes. "_Do you think you can even handle going toe to toe with me, Little Roland?_" He inquired curiously.

Gabriella narrowed her icy glare. "I think I can," was all she said as she put her hand to the hilt of her Ohdan's blade. The ancient devils stored within the sword would help her in the battle, she knew it would; it had to.

Copy Cat shook his head with a laugh. "_You think petty devils will stop me, Little Roland?_" then he looked at her mocking eyes that narrowed into two sharp slits. "_Remember that I killed a majored of the ancient devil population._"

"_Ceh,_" Gabriella scoffed, whipping out the ebony blade and held it firmly in her grasp, the sharp edge gleaming in the light cast by lightning. "We all know the story. You did it for power."

Copy Cat's grin turned into a wicked sneer, a sneer that was full of secrets. "_It was __**orders.**_"

Gabriella's eyes opened wide from shock; _what…?_ She never heard of that before…_no, wait_. Her shock vanished, and her expression was livid with rage once more and she growled darkly. He was a _devil_, the worst of his kind; he was lying. He _had_ to be. And the comment fueled her temper, the lid finally blowing off and she roared: "_Caden's Demonic Sword: Fire!_" and she swung the blade.

And inferno swirled from the dark metal, spiraling towards the devil that stood there with a smirk still plastered on his lips. The blaze engulfed the devil as if he came from a true fire breathing dragon, the flames lapping at the dead trees, despite all the wetness; nothing could stop the magical power of demonic fire.

Something was off though, Gabriella could feel it in her gut as she watched the typhoon of fire before her eyes. Then it scattered, the brilliant red flames turning into nothing by ash that was washed away by the rain. And there in the middle of the scorched section of earth was Copy Cat, unscratched. The devil still stood where he was before the flames, the only thing to have changed was his arms that where out stretched, and orbs of gold energy surrounding his form, protecting him from any danger.

The devil huffed arrogantly, devious grin on his lips and an amused shine in his eyes. "_You should know better than this, Little Roland,_" he tsked mockingly. "_I was made to withstand many ancient devil attacks._"

Gabriella ground her teeth together until she felt the buzzing pain reach her head, creating a dull ache. _Damnit_, she hissed in her thoughts; she thought the blade would be different.

_Mortal!_ The word rung in the back of her mind, startling her slightly. _Release me! Let me kill him! Now, Mortal!_

Gabriella wary looked turned serious, a dark shadow cast over her golden eyes. _Hellion_, the ancient devil wanted nothing more to kill Copy Cat for what he had did to the others. But, Gabriella didn't want to rely on Hellion. The ancient devil was unpredictable, stubborn, and maybe too violent for the task; too violent meaning Hellion's reach may, no, would extend to the innocent women and child in range. Yes, Hellion's range was wide and deep, all within would with die or barely survive. Hellion was her last restore, and Gabriella was confident she could win against a mere fragment of Copy Cat by herself.

_**Mortal!**_ The tone of Hellion was sharp as a blade, full of rage and hatred that collected for centuries. _**Release me at once! I command you!**_

Gabriella refused, and focused on her next course of action.

_**MORTAL!**_

"_Is that Hellion I hear all the way from the many layers of Hell?_" Copy Cat mused, a hand cupping his pointed ear. "_Why, Little Roland. I believe the lovely ancient wants to be let out. Why not listen to the demand, hmm?_"

Gabriella ignored his taunts as she bit her lip in thought. One of the ancient devils of her sword wasn't enough; that was clear enough. But, what if she used two, maybe there, or even all of them. She had done it before, and the power is tremendous. Maybe, just maybe, Copy Cat couldn't handle it and—

**MORTAAAAL!**

The hazardous roar with in her mind made her flinch, cringing at the pain in caused her mentally, and physically.

"_Release the Hellion!_" Copy Cat egged it on, hollering in laughter. "_Release the Ancient! Let us fight to the death, Little Roland! Hellion and I have a score to settle since our last fight was so rudely interrupted!_"

"Shut up!" Gabriella snapped, a hand clutching her forehead. "Both of you! Shut up!"

Copy Cat's tone went soft, so dangerously soft. "_You should not let your guard down so easily, Little Roland._"

Gabriella's eyes opened wide; realizing her mistake instantly, but before she could even glance at the damage about to come, a quiet voice replied to the devil.

"I should say the same to you."

Then a shriek of pain echoed through the atmosphere.

The summoner mage then looked up, staring at the sight of a tiny, white hand stained red sticking out from the devil's chest, his robes drenched in only crimson blood. And within the tiny palm of the little white hand was the devil's beating heart, the organ pounding rapidly in fear.

Then in a flash, the heart was pulled away, making Copy Cat gasp and blood splutter from his lips as he crumbled to his knees, hands over the gaping hole in his chest as he crashed to his side in the mud.

And there behind him was no other than Lin, the child deity with the frantic heart in one hand, and a tiny knife in the other. With cold, dead red eyes, she stared down at the devil with a stoic expression.

"_You…_" Copy Cat rasped in a meek voice, weakly reaching out to try and grab the child. "Y_—You cannot…do this…_"

Still, with little emotion on her face, Lin merely gazed upon the withering devil. Then she blinked only once, and her dead looked swarmed with rage, an expression of hatred no child should be able to muster. And bringing back her fist that held her little knife, she stabbed the devil's heart. Copy Cat eyes glossed over, the bright crimson turning a faded pink, and his limbs trembled before going limp and never moving again.

Though, the devil was dead and showed no signs of getting up again, little Lin continued to stab the heart in her hand over and over, blood splattering the white fabric of her dress and staining her matching skin and hair. By the time the heart was nothing but a mushing red mess dripping between her fingers, Lin finally stopped her fit and then let the distorted heart slip from her palm.

Then, she slowly turned to the devil's corpse. "It's your fault he hates me," was all she said.

* * *

><p>The moonlight from the pothole illuminated the room, Kidd's form highlighted as he slouched over on his seat at the edge of the bed. The redhead groaned, rubbing his aching temples. What a week. The beginning had been a breeze on his part, but once it got to the battle with the Yonko…<p>

God, he never thought it would end. If felt like an eternity, waiting for Kadio and Big Mom to arrive, watching two power pirate captains battle. Kidd felt like he was watching the War at Marine Ford once more, only this time he was too close for comfort.

Then when it was time to join…

The memories made him shutter.

Kidd was aggressive, violent, and angry, but he wasn't stupid. He did have common sense and messing with two Yonko—even at half the strength—was never a pleasant experience. It was hell, but that hell paid heavily in his favor. He took the final swing on Big Mom, fairly earning the title of Yonko. Currently, he was considered one of the most powerful men on earth. And he highly doubted any of the other Yonko would try to fight him now. Shanks was a rather lax person and didn't seem hostile whatsoever, well, to him at least. Probably because of Gabriella, but he wouldn't worry about that. Then there was the other newest Yonko, Manolia Benadeer, was on their side…at least he thought so.

Kidd shook his head, the only big pirate name he had to worry about was Blackbeard, but that bat crazy bastard had nothing things on his agenda compared to him.

Though, less thinking of the past and worrying about the future. It was time for a bit of shut eye. He was starting to doze off where he sat, his chin touching his collarbone and his vision got blurry and he was about to—

_Bam!_

The door hit the wall and Kidd jerked away, hearing the rushed footsteps and he started to turn and see who it was, but his sight was overcome by the familiar bosom of his summoner mage.

He let out a muffled gasp as his arms embraced Gabriella as she threw herself upon him, their bodies crashing atop the bed. Being smothered with Gabriella boobs wasn't necessarily a bad thing…but even he needed a breath of air. He grabbed her shoulder, gently peeling her away from his form and he looked up with wide eyes, foreign water droplets staining his cheeks.

She was in that vulnerable state of mind that only few ever saw her in. Tears flowed from her golden eyes, her lower lip quivering as she slumped down and curled up on his chest, her fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.

"Gabriella…"Kidd mumbled, propping up on his elbow of his mechanical arm as his free hand touched her ginger hair.

She didn't reply verbally, her body doing all the talking as her hands let go of his shirt and grabbed the thick fur of his coat, wrapping them up together in the warm folds. She snuggled up close to him, burying her nose into the crook of his neck. Her breath heated his skin, and her tears made them damp, the temperatures mixing to make sweat form.

Then she snaked her arms under his and her nails dug into his back as she softly sobbed: "The bastard's dead."

* * *

><p>The Marines had gone to the tiny, unpopulated island of Cheshire, the barren island with nothing by wither trees and shrubs, the wildlife drowned by the downpour that never ceased in over two hundred years. The neighboring island was concerned when they saw something unnatural happening to the usual storm; bronze lightning and green thunder was truly a strange occurrence.<p>

So the nearest Warship went to investigate, and on that crew was none other than Private Conrad Ronal. He was the run of the mill Marine that had enlisted over two years ago after the War at Marine Ford. He was an average Marine, no matter how hard he worked, he never got a promotion and could never compare to other men that joined his division. He was meek and weak, the 'Little Mouse' of the team. It was a nickname he hated, but he was going to prove himself.

He would show he was brave, which is why he scouted the island, alone.

He held his rifle close to his chest as his eyes scanned the area for anything suspicion, but there was nothing. Just the dead trees and bushes; the rain would have washed anything away by now.

Until his foot felt the uncomfortable squishing that was not mud whatsoever. He closed his eyes tightly and whispered a chant that he hoped it wasn't what he thought it was, but there was only one way to find out. Hesitantly, he looked down, and when he did, he saw the blood entrails of the sorry sap that was murdered here.

He was frozen in fear, ready to hightail it out of there, but it only became worse for poor Ronal.

A hand sprouted from the ground, the peeling red tainted skin and the bony fingers clung to his ankle. Gold swarmed his body, making his knees tremble in fear of the worse to come. And that, was complete darkness.

Then, when Private Conrad Ronal regained his composure, gripping his forehead in pain, he looked up and sneered wickedly; an action uncharacteristic to his personality. He began laughing manically to the moon, throwing his head back in the insane humorous fit and he hollered to the heavens that poured down on him, drenching him in rain water.

When he finally calmed down, he wiped a tear forming under his eye and chuckled: "_Silly mortals… Don't they know cats have more than one life?_"

* * *

><p>Raise your hand if you thought Copy Cat was dead? Well, did you think it would be that easy? NOPE! We ain't done yet. :D<p> 


	107. Chapter 104: Date Night

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: The numbers of lives if classified. :D

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Well, it's hard to answer your questions directly...since it would spoil quite a few things... Lin and Law, the relationship is something that falls under "method to my madness". Copy Cat's deaths...who said they were any different?

Alpenwolf: It takes more than that to kill the best, after all. :p

Hitoshirezu Ryu: The King's Alliance...well...about that...

**Who wants OoC Kidd? I haven't done and OoC Kidd in awhile... So enjoy~**

**P.S. Sorry for mistakes...**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 104: Date Night<p>

There was not a cloud in the sky, the sun's warm rays beating down on his exposed skin, yet the breeze cooled him down. He stood at the helm of his ship, looking out at the gentle waves surrounding them. Nothing felt different. Sure, he had more battle wounds and a slight headache due to the battle on Zo, but that was it. Yet, the world saw him differently now.

He was the one that brought down Big Mom. It wasn't single handedly by any means, it was through the work of deception that caused Kadio to raise his hand and then the work of the King's Alliance to finish it off. He was just the lucky one who landed the final blow; nothing more, nothing less.

Straw Hat was the one the suggested it in the first place, anyway. Benadeer was given the title of Yonko through a deal, yet he still fought the Emperor and struck him down first. Kidd did the same with Big Mom, and the rubber captain saw the connection and put two and two together. Surprisingly, no one argued with Straw Hat's logic, maybe because they were all tired, weary and worn from the war that they didn't care. Sleep was the first thing on their agenda's, but the paper's agenda was to write the scoop of the day.

_Benadeer, the mystery captain appears from nowhere and claims the title while Eustass 'Captain' Kidd snags the other._

The paper had already labeled them before the captains of the King's Alliance could argue.

Now, the world knew who he was, how powerful he had become since his Supernova days. He wonder if Pops was proud; he would have to ask next time they met.

"Kidd." The voice of his first mate snapped him from thought and he looked over his shoulder, seeing Killer walking up beside him. "Where's your coat?" The masked blonde inquired, his hands deep in his pockets.

Kidd's brows furrowed, puzzled at the question, but then his eyes opened wide with realization; true, he wasn't wearing his coat at the moment because: "Gabriella has it."

Killer tilted his masked head to the side. "Why?"

"Using it as a blanket," Kidd explained with a shrug. "She's cocooned in it, so I thought I would leave her be."

"Ah, I see," Killer nodded. "Though I think she's awake now."

Kidd glanced towards his first mate, his brow arched. "How'd you know?"

"I saw Musket a minute ago carrying a mug of coffee," Killer answered simply.

"_Hmm…_" Kidd hummed, pressing his lips together. "Killer, take the wheel," he then ordered his first mate and stepped down from his post.

The masked blonde took his captain's place, and Kidd briskly walked back to his room and opened the door to see Gabriella wide awake. She was curled up in a ball underneath his coat, leaning against the backboard of the bed with hot coffee in her hands as she blew the gentle steam from the surface to cool the contents. When the door closed, she looked up at him. A pleasant smile spread across her lips, a small gesture as she tilted her had to the side slightly. With large strides, Kidd moved from the door to the bedside quickly and sat on the edge.

Leaning forward, he gave her a small peck to the lips, tasting the bitterness on her skin, yet there was a somewhat sweet aftertaste, which made him pull back with a puzzled expression. "Did you…put creamer in your coffee?" he asked curiously.

"Yes…" Gabriella knitted her brows in confusion. "How'd you know?"

"I can taste it," Kidd answered as he licked his lips.

"Well, your senses seem to be on track today," she giggled lightly, an amused glint in her golden eyes. "Yes," she then repeated and nodded. "I asked for creamer. I thought I'd treat myself with something sweet instead of bitter."

"To celebrate the sweet victory?" Kidd mused with a smirk.

"Exactly," she smiled back. "Though…" she added, trailing off so she could ponder her thoughts. "I wanted to do something else as well."

Kidd arched a brow. "And what's that?" he asked.

"The next time we dock…" she slowly started, tapping her fingernails against the thick pottery of her mug. "I want to go on a date."

There was a moment of silence as Kidd's mind raced to comprehend what she just said, and then with a stutter, he finally replied: "A d_—date?_"

"We've never went on an _official_ date, I suppose," Gabriella answered him thoughtfully as she tapped a finger to her chin. "I think it would be fun, don't you?"

Kidd pursed his lips, a small trickle of sweat rolling down his brow. "Y—yeah, why not."

Gabriella eyed him curiously, an amused look in her eyes. "You sound nervous."

"I'm _not!_" he snapped back, but his cheeks stained pink told another story, which made his summoner mage chuckle at the sight. "Why would I been nervous at something like a date with my girlfriend of two years!" he continued to defend his argument. "That's just ridiculous!" then with a huff, he rose from where he sat. "Now, I gotta talk to Killer about something," and then he left before she could get another word in.

Briskly, he rushed from the room back to the deck. Looking up at the second deck, he jerked his head to his first mate, ordering him to follow him back into the belly of the ship. From the masked blonde's body language, Kidd could tell he was confused. Nonetheless, Killer did as he was told and handed the wheel off to Heat, the second mate taking his place as the first mate followed his flustered captain. Without missing a beat, Kidd plowed his way to his office, Killer hot on his heels as he watched his captain push passed various members of his crew to reach his office.

When the door was shut, Kidd turned to his first mate. "Killer, I have a huge fucking problem." He stated firmly with a pale complexion overtaking his features.

"…And what's that...?" Killer asked unsurely, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Gabriella…" he started to say, avoiding eye contact as he then said: "Wants to go on a _date_…" then he snapped his attention back to Killer, an anxious look in his eyes. "I've never been on a date before!"

"…"

_Smack, smack, smack_.

"_Stop bangin' your head against the wall and help me!_" Kidd shouted as he watched his best friend repeatedly pound his forehead to the wall behind him.

Killer stopped, then slowly turned his head to face Kidd once more, the radiance of annoyance engulfing his presence. "With _what_, exactly?" He dully asked.

"With…with what I'm supposed to fucking do…" Kidd mumbled his response, crossing his arms and looked away, an embarrassed blush rising to his cheeks.

"Seriously, Kidd?" Killer sighed deeply and shook his head, more annoyed than he was before. "You have _nothing_ to worry about, you fucking ginger. You and Gabriella have been together to for two years, it's not like you're trying to impress her or something. She _knows_ everything about you already, and she already accepts your flaws."

"_Hey!_" Kidd yelled, a vein of fury pulsing from his brow. "What's _that_ supposed to mean!"

"You have nothing to lose basically," Killer was blunt and shrugged off Kidd's rage. "Maybe sex…but that's if you _really_ screw up."

"…oh fucking hell…"

_Smack, smack, smack_.

Killer shook his head. "Kidd, stop banging your head against the wall," and then he sighed deeply. "Fine, I'll give you advice: take her to a restaurant. It doesn't have to be fancy shit, just something nicer than the fucking pier bars filled with sailors. If you do that, you should be golden."

"You sure?" Kidd asked quietly with a small frown

Killer resisted the sudden urge to slap his captain. "If I say yes will we drop the subject?" Killer inquired instead.

"Yes," was all Kidd said.

"Then yes, I'm sure," was how Killer responded.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere was different from what he was used to, for one, the smell was different. The familiar scent of salt water was weak and overwhelmed with the aromas of steaming hot plates of food that were held by servers that went from one table to the next. Also, the customers weren't as wild. In was way, it looked as if they were all happy-go-lucky types of people, yet that was Kidd's personal opinion. Usually, a fight or two would have broken out by the time they entered a bar because of his status in the New World. Well, former status. His current status…well, he highly doubted most crews would overstep any boundaries unless they were either clueless or cocky, both examples a sigh of sheer stupidity.<p>

That was probably the only thing there was in common with this normal restaurant than the bars he usually went to. No one got too close unless they had to. They were seated quickly in a somewhat isolated area of the bar. The corner a little dark, but for a hanging light overhead, the stained glass making patterns of different colors on the bar top. And just as they were seated quickly, they were waited upon just as fast, drinks already before them and food being cooked before anyone else's. Someone wanted them out right away, that was obvious to him, but Gabriella didn't seem to notice; if she did then she clearly didn't care.

She was bubbly, talking at the speed of light with excitement, or maybe he was just a little spaced out and wasn't paying close enough to what she was saying.

"…" Kidd tapped his fingertips to the bar's surface as his metal fingers clinked against the thick glass of his pint. There was one thing going through his mind; going on a date felt…_weird_.

Then suddenly a hand covered his, and he glanced over to see Gabriella rest her chin against his arm. She looked up at him, an innocent look on her pretty face; she was wearing make up, more than usual, the colors making the bright gold of her eyes pop and her lips stood out just as much due to the crimson color. "Why are you so quiet?" she then asked, a small smirk curling the corners of her lips. "Are you _nervous~?_"

"N—_no!_" He snapped, then he shook his head, trying to regain his composure after he heard the crack in his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Gabriella as her grin widened with amusement. "Just not used to the atmosphere…" he told her, which was the truth. The people looked to be happy, but he could see how they forced smiles and laughs, sweat beating down their skin like bullets. They were putting up a good front, Kidd would admit that.

"Well, I think it's nice," she smiled sweetly, her fingers fiddling with the steam of the fancy glass that held her drink. "Quieter than the usual places we go, and cleaner, and better food, and better drinks. I can actually get a cocktail!"

"Is that why you decided to wear a cocktail dress?" Kidd inquired with a weak grin, his eyes glancing down at the short black dress she wore before just for the sake of proving him wrong.

"I thought I would dress up a bit, you know?" she winked as she stuck out her tongue. "Gotta look pretty for our first date~!"

"…" Kidd pursed his lips; he wondered if he should have worn something different…

"What?" Gabriella asked after his moment of silence was longer than it should have been. "You still _nervous~?_"

"I am _not!_" Kidd hissed angrily through his teeth, yet his cheeks flushed a shade of dark crimson. "You are just a little too excited about this 'date' thing."

"And why not?" She questioned in returned, an amused smile on her red painted lips as she swished the contents of her drink around in the shallow glass. "This _is_ exciting! I haven't been on an _official_ date in years…not since my last boyfriend tried to poison me."

Kidd's eyes opened wide with shock, the color from his cheeks going from red to white. "_What?!_"

"Oh, didn't I tell you about it before…?" She asked, and by his expression and silence, it seems that she had yet to mention it to me. "Well, my last few relationships turned out to be assassins set by some nobles that wanted me dead, being Caden's Heir and all. Mason sniffed it out pretty easily though, he killed all of them, but one, my last one. Let's just say he's the one that got away."

"And if the one that got away ever comes back I'll skin his hide," Kidd barked, the warning completely serious. That was clear due to the pint glass in his mechanical hand being shattered to pieces as the booze drenched his trembling metal fingers. And the sound made the world around them pause, but when the others in the room saw that he wasn't going to erupt, they hesitantly went back to their meals and drinks while a bartender hurriedly picked up the broke glass while another quickly replaced the captain's beer.

"I have no doubt in the world," Gabriella chuckled lightly as she reached for some napkins and helped him dry his hand, napkin in one hand and his metal on in the other. "But, you may need to compete with Mason for that chance…"

"Hmph," Kidd scoffed and rolled his eyes as he shook away the remaining beer still clinging to his iron hand; he didn't feel like talking about_ that_ guy. _That_ guy was a pain in his ass and the only one that would be getting revenge on his girlfriend's behalf was him, not a stupid-pain-in-the-ass stalker. Though…on another topic, the mention of revenge brought something that he had been curious about for a bit now. "And I've noticed something," he changed the subject to something that was somewhat different. "You seem to be a bit…_happier_ than I expected."

Gabriella stopped what she was doing, her brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Revenge takes a lot out of people," Kidd started to explain has his metal finger traced the rim of his new pint. "I have seen it happen before a few times, and once it's finally done…people usually don't know what do to with themselves, you know? It's like they become hollow shells because their life was revolving around that one person they wanted to kill. And once their target is gone, they have nothing to live for anymore."

"Well, that's because I didn't let revenge rule my life," Gabriella countered and simply shrugged it off. "I split what I wanted into a goal and dream, therefore when my goal was done, I could live my life striving for my dream after. Make sense?"

"So, killing Copy Cat was your goal," Kidd deducted the obvious. "Then what's your dream?" he was sure she had never mentioned it before.

"Oh," Gabriella sheepishly mumbled and looked away, trying to hide the action by tucking a strand of hair behind her pointed ear. "It's nothing big, really…"

Kidd smirked mischievously, clearly seeing her hesitation and pressed her by wrapping an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "C'mon, tell me," he purred huskily into her ear.

"F—fine," she murmured then took a deep breath in and out and turned to him, saying: "To get married and have babies."

There was a long moment of silence between them, the only sound coming from the background.

Then it really hit home for Kidd. "…W_—what!?_"

"What's up with the surprise," Gabriella chuckled nonchalantly as she took a tiny sip of her drink. "You should know by now that I love babies."

"I—I know…but your dream…it…it…" He stuttered, unable to find the right words; the pieces were there and he could see the picture, yet he couldn't complete the puzzle.

"You don't like it?" She then asked with a weak and tiny smile.

"No, no, no!" Kidd tried to get out of the grave he was digging for himself, but he felt it was only getting bigger. "No, um, not what I meant, I mean…I mean…"

"It's hard to describe on your end, isn't it?" She answered for him with a kind look in her eyes. "Don't worry, I understand. It's a big leap and if you're not ready then you're not ready. Don't sweat over it, babe." She reassured him with a tough smile and patted his shoulder.

Kidd pressed his lips together in thought. She didn't seem upset with him, yet there was still something that didn't sit well with him. Hell, if he screwed up this fucking date, he was blaming Killer, _entirely_. Nervously, he tapped his fingers against the bar and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of how he would put what was on his mind into words. And then, he asked the million beli question. "…Would you ever…_leave_ to fulfill your dream?"

Gabriella sighed when she heard his ask that and propping her elbow up on her bar, resting her chin in her open palm. "I was worried you would say that."

A puzzled expression came to Kidd's face. "What's that mean…?"

"It means you're looking on the dark side of things, Kidd," Gabriella sighed again and shook her head. "This is why it's my _dream_. Not all dreams can be fulfilled and that's okay, but it's always fun to strive for them. A goal, though, is a different matter and has to be complete. See the difference?"

"Needing to do something and wanting to do something," Kidd simplified.

"Exactly," Gabriella smirked with a playful wink as she wrapped her arms around his and rested her head against the thick muscles of his biceps. "So, I'll say it again, don't sweat over. I'm not leaving you because I'm happy with you, that's all that matters, right?"

"…Right," he replied quietly, but he still felt something was off. He didn't know if it was her or him, but he knew one thing. He felt like he was a dream killer.

* * *

><p>"That was fun!" Gabriella chirped happily after they had returned to the inn once their date night was over. The summoner mage walked barefooted through the quiet hall, her soles feeling the thin carpet with ever step she took and she swung her arms back and forth as she carried both of her shoes by the heels in one hand. "Don't you agree?"<p>

"…"

When there was no reply, she turned to face Kidd. She saw the sulking aura around his form, the dark vibes practically visible to the naked eye as he walked with slouched shoulders and hand deep in his pockets while his mechanical fingers moved in a way like he was trying to get something off his mind. "Kidd?"

"_Hmm?_" Her voice snapped him back to reality and he looked her way, a blank gaze of his eyes, signaling that he wasn't all there just yet.

"Why so glum?" She asked, stepping closer to him and placed a hand to his chest to try and get his full attention. "You've been so quiet since we left. What's wrong?"

"To tell the truth, I feel guilty." Kidd admitted bluntly.

Gabriella blinked in shock. "_Why?_"

"I'm holding you back on your dream." Kidd grimaced, a deep frown on his lips.

She knotted her brows and took a step back. "No, you're not," Gabriella huffed, her hands curling into tight fists and then planted on her hips.

"Yes, I am…" Kidd countered weakly.

"Really Kidd?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Did I look upset with you over _that?_"

"…Girls are good at hiding how they really feel." Kidd countered frankly.

"Oh really?" She then smirked, turning on her bare heel and continued down the hall to their room. "Then I'll just have to prove it," she then sung the words sweetly, tempting him to follow.

And he was right on her heels when he heard the melodic tune in her voice. "How?" Kidd asked.

Then she suddenly turned around once at the door, a sweet smile on her lips, yet a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I usually don't do this on a first date…" she started as she reached for the doorknob and his hand at the same time. "But you are my one and only exception," and as the door was opened, she jerked him in and then it was shut once more in the blink of an eye.

* * *

><p>Killer had heard from Chamberlain that Kidd returned him his, <em>err<em>, date with Gabriella and the expression Kidd wore was nothing good. It contrasted with Gabriella, but they all knew that girls hid their emotions like different masks. Killer figured something was up, and he better…_console_ Kidd before he did anything else that was stupid, and probably unnecessary.

Rapping his knuckles to the door of the room his captain was in, he waited for Kidd to answer.

There was a strange pause though, and he didn't know if it had to do with the walls or if Kidd was just ignoring him. Killer was very close to kicking down the door because he did not like being ignored when he was trying to help. Though, he heard the shuffle of movement, it was faint, but enough to keep his foot at bay.

Then, when the door opened, all Killer could do was stare.

There stood his captain, the pale skin of his cheeks and neck covered in lipstick stains. "What?" Kidd questioned, an annoyed tone in his gruff voice.

Killer truly had no words to say at the matter, he didn't even know if he could laugh at the sight. So, instead he grabbed the doorknob and closed it so he no longer saw the image of his captain. And then he walked away.


	108. Chapter 105: Island Wasteland

Velonica14: Oh, I'll get the edit there...when I can, most likely tomorrow. Thank you though. xD

Alpenwolf: He just put a slight...pause. xD

Girl-luvs-manga: Yes, yes it does. :)

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Well. There _are_ stories where Killer so more than a first mate, but I feel you are thinking on the friendship level, not the romantic one. I think...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Yeah...we all know that Gabriella's having-a-baby dream will come true. The marriage one though...eh, that's still in the dark. Depends on what you guys think. xD

**Err, well, I have had a hectic week times two. I'm not too proud of this chapter since it was written and edited on my iPhone for the most part... So yeah, expect mistakes... And I apologize for them beforehand.** _*hides away in corner and sobs*_

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 105: Island Wasteland<p>

The light of late noon poured through the open window, the tiniest breeze filtering through the thin crack between the frame and sill. The small chill aroused her from sleep, the wind kissing the bare skin of her shoulders and exposed back. Shuttering, she huffed and pulled the blanket over her body, huddling the warmth and then snuggled closer to Kidd. Yet, she could not go back to sleep. The cool atmosphere had pierced her bones and traveled through ever nerve until it reached her core. Her brain didn't like the conditions. So, since her sleep time was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature, she couldn't allow her slumbering boyfriend have something different. Basically, she spend her time poking Kidd in the cheek.

The redhead did not appreciate the method, the annoyed grunt and sharp roll away was clear enough indication. Gabriella would not back down though, and she slung an arm over his side, her fingernails tickling his abandon. He didn't laugh, nor find it amusing, but he did rolled back over, a tired scowl on his face.

Though, Gabriella didn't stare at how he boyfriend looked at the moment. She paid no heed to the dark gleam in his narrow eyes, or the heavy frown weighting down the corners of his lips.

Gabriella, instead, stifled a laugh, hand over her mouth to hide the smile creeping onto her features.

The scowl lightened to a look of confusion and he furrowed his brows. "...what?" Kidd questioned slowly, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Your face..." She giggled between her fingers. "It's covered in lipstick."

His eyes opened wide, his brows knotting together even more and he slapped his hands to his cheeks. "What the fuck?!" and then Kidd threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, still stark naked from the previous night. Without a care in the world, he stomped to the bathroom in nothing but his birthday suit.

Hamish and Ezio, the two pups rushed out from under the bed and followed Kidd. They wanted to go out for their morning walk since the night one was…put on hold, but Kidd made a beeline for the bathroom door rather than the room door. The two pups whined in confusion, Hamish clawing at the door for escape and Ezio crying like the wee baby he was when the redhead didn't open the door for them. The next instinct reaction for the dogs was to scurry after his scent and bombarded him with barking.

"_**Gabriella!**_" Kidd barked from the bathroom, aggravated to the extreme.

The summoner mage chuckled in amusement over the sounds of her flustered boys and she hopped out of bed. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her exposed form and then made her way to the bathroom's open doorway. Ezio, her littlest baby, went to her on instinct and the summoner crouched down to pick him up. She cuddled him like a newborn in her arms, and the puppy whined happily in the blankets and warmth of her skin.

Then, leaning against the doorframe, she quirked a brow with a tiny smirk. "Need help?" She inquired, very entertained by her boyfriend's misfortune.

Kidd was viciously scrubbing his skin with her makeup remover drenched in a towel. The kiss marks from the night prior caked the skin of his face and neck. They were thick and the darkest shade of red; the makeup remover doing barely anything, probably just because it happened to him, it had to be difficult.

That made him even more frustrated, and her enjoyment on the situation didn't help, and he scowled at her with bitter anger. "_No,_" he snapped, his tone like a hissing snake. "Just take care of the damn dogs," then he turned back to the mirror, cursing many profanities under his breath as he rubbed his face raw with the towel once more.

Gabriella just sighed and shook her head, but she followed through with the demand nonetheless.

* * *

><p>"…and that's what I heard in town." Chamberlain concluded, tapping his finger to the sea chart of the island they were currently docked out.<p>

The chart was taken from Jeremy's Big Book of Everything and the navigator saw that it had nothing of true interest besides the fact that there was only a tiny patch of woods which was a park for the city. Other than that, the island had long been ripped of its other natural resources such as fresh water, minerals and food. Everything had to be imported and the only income the island had was hunting the birds, which had a beautiful set of feathers for decoration and tough meat that helped with improving eyesight. There were also rumors of bounty hunters, but if they didn't have a name, they weren't all too good.

"Apparently this is just a 'wasteland' nothing of value." Chamberlain added his final note.

"Hmph," Killer grunted and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair, kicking up his feet so his ankles rested against the table's surface.

Chamberlain stared at the first mate long and hard, his eyes narrowing with slight annoyance. "You didn't hear a word I said," he stated frankly.

"Hmph," Killer repeated, tilting his head back to look up at the slowly spinning ceiling fan cakes in dust and cobwebs. "Wow that's kinda gross, all that dirt is overhead…" he mumbled more to himself than to the navigator.

Chamberlain pursed his lips, a tiny grumble of annoyance coming from the back of his throat and he furrowed his brows then whacked Killer upside the head with an open palm in a fit of frustration.

"_Hey!_" Killer snapped, whipping his full, undivided attention towards the navigator. "What gives, you fucking bookworm?"

"Good, you're paying attention now," Chamberlain scoffed and crossed his arms. "Now I get to tell you everything I just said, _again_."

"Hmph," Killer grunted for a third time and mimicked the navigator's pose. "Well sorry. You mentioned that the island was relatively boring so I tuned you out."

The navigator rolled his eyes; Killer could be just as bad as Kidd when he wanted to be. "Yeah," Chamberlain easily admitted, but he wasn't done yet. "Though now we gotta focus on restocking with an island that has barely anything."

"What do you mean by barely anything?" Killer inquired, his interest finally snared. "At least there's something here, right?"

"Yeah," Chamberlain admitted again and slid a paper towards the first mage. "And these are the prices," and Chamberlain pointed to the digits scrawled out on the sea charts margins.

Killer let out a long whistle when he saw all those zeros just for a single dozen cannonballs. "Holy shit, that's a lot of noodles. Like, lifetime quality."

Chamberlain rolled his eyes at the comparison. "Yeah, right, but anyway, you see my point now."

"Not really," Killer countered bluntly and shook his head. "We just raid this little shit hole; easy-peesy-lemon-squeezy."

"Uh, first off, don't ever say that again," Chamberlain stated sternly. "Sounds retarded," and Killer scoffed in response, but Chamberlain merely continued. "And second, I'm pretty sure you're not the first wise guy to think up that little bit of genius."

Killer growled, irritated with the attitude. "Fuck you, Chamberlain."

Chamberlain ignored the insult and moved the subject along or else they would be there all day. "This island is prepared for pirates and other thieves. Sure, we might be a Yonko crew now, but they probably won't bow down considering a majority of the crew is still wrapped in bandages."

"Doesn't make us any weaker," Killer stated the fact firmly.

"I know that," Chamberlain agreed with a nod. "But when the losing side thinks they have the upper hand, then they tend to keep trying."

"Don't talk to me like I'm four," Killer snapped, his muscles tensing as he crossed his arms again. "I get the fucking picture. We either need to get money or…"

"That's pretty much our only option." Chamberlain proclaimed dully.

Killer paused for a moment to think of another solution. "…Maybe Gabriella can seduce the mayor?"

"…That's a stupid idea." Chamberlain shook his head at the thought.

"I know, right," Killer nodded with a sigh. "But it might have to be a plan if we can't pay or fight."

"Kidd would never agree to Gabriella sleeping with another guy," Chamberlain pointed out. "He'd take the violence route any day compared to that."

"I never said she'd _sleep_ with him," Killer scoffed. "That's just ridiculously. She'd just tempt him or something. Shake her tits and ass until he gives her a VIP discount card to everything."

"Why not have Gabriella just barter with all the clerks in town." Chamberlain joked sarcastically, his tone and expression showing no signs of amusement.

"That works too." Killer actually agreed.

Chamberlain grumbled a curse under his breath as he slapped the heel of his palm to his forehead.

"Hey, it's a better plan B than the other one," Killer added. "He just needs to suck it up and take one for the team," and then he grumbled offhandedly under his breath. "He's the one that decided to get a hot girlfriend in the first place."

Chamberlain blinked at the first mate that was simmering ever so slightly with steam coming from his ears. "…I feel an envious vibe coming from you."

"What?" Killer scoffed, acting as if the comment took him off guard. "That's bullshit. I am _not_ jealous."

"Or you're just mad that you got stuck with the stalker and you can't have sex because Madeline chases off all the girls." Chamberlain boldly stated.

"…"

"I hit it on the nail, didn't I?" Chamberlain asked, a faint smirk on his lips. "Someone's has a bit of sexual tension it seems."

"…This conversation is over," and Killer stood up, ready to leave.

But before he could retreat into his own little pity corner, Jacques came running up to the table, completely out of breath. The bomber quickly mumbled something in French to the first mate, a large grin on his lips as his hands moved about wildly.

Chamberlain blinked in confusion, looking between the first mate and bomber. "What'd he say?"

Killer chuckled. "Looks like there's a rumor about treasure…"

* * *

><p>"So your date with Kidd went well?" Madeline asked curiously as she slowly walked to the pace of baby Ezio.<p>

"Yup!" Gabriella chirped happily as she practically skipped down the sidewalk of the park, letting little Hamish lead the way. Then she stumbled a bit, remembering the other night a little bit more clearly, and without the rose-tinted glasses. "Though…he got a little depressed towards the end."

"Eh?" Madeline stopped alongside her best friend and eyed her curiously. "Why'd he get depressed? I thought it was fun?"

"Relationship stuff," Gabriella waved it aside with a flick of her wrist. "All that matters is Kidd is happier now…err, more or less…" she nervously laughed as scratched the side of her cheek with a tiny a smile; once he got all that makeup off he'd be better for sure.

"Hmph," Madeline huffed, crossing her arms over her flat chest. "Not fair. I wanna hear the juicy deets," she complained with a long, childish whine and stomp of her foot.

Gabriella blinked slowly at her overly flustered friend. "…It's not that big of a deal, Mads."

"I tell you all 'bout my dates!" Madeline countered angrily as she planted two clenched fists to her thin hips.

"..." The summoner mage soaked in the comment. "Okay, Madeline," Gabriella sighed and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I love you, but your fantasies with Killer are not real," she stated the cold hard truth. "And I'd rather you didn't tell me about those anyway."

Madeline's eyes narrowed into two narrow slits. "One day he will love me. One day he will!" She proclaimed with fiery determination in her voice and flames in her eyes.

"…Madeline," Gabriella frowned with a serious expression on her features. "Once again, I love you, but I don't think that will happen. Ever."

"Aren't you my best friend?" Madeline countered with a disapproving scowl. "Best friends are, like, supposed to help their best friends achieve true love!"

"But with each time you try to seduce Killer…he hates you more," Gabriella pointed out bluntly. "As your best friend, I should stop you from hurting yourself even more mentally," she paused. "And physically."

"Hmph," was all Madeline said and she turned her nose away sharply in offense.

Gabriella wasn't blind and saw that Madeline was upset, despite what she said being true. But, she wasn't heartless and so she was going to try her best to make Madeline happy. That is what friends were for, after all. "I think Jacques really likes you," she added with a small smile.

Madeline turned her head back slightly, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Uh, he likes every pretty girl he meets," she argued bluntly. "But you because Kidd would skin him alive otherwise."

Gabriella shook her head, an amused smirk still plastered on her lips. "I think you're different though, Mads. I think he's not flirting with other girls as much. Plus doesn't he give you a rose every morning?" She inquired with a sly grin, nudging her bestie in the side with her elbow.

"I wonder where he gets though in the middle of the ocean anyway…" Madeline curiously pondered aloud as she tapped a finger to her chin.

"Who knows," Gabriella shrugged, but then shook her head of the odd thought. "But it's still sweet! Kidd has never given me a rose before."

Madeline pressed her lips together in a thin line of thought as she looked upward, like she was thinking over the new tid-bit of information "Well…" she started to say, but then was cut off harshly by the barking of the dogs.

Hamish darted out from where he sat beside Gabriella and started barking wildly, his back arched and his lips curled to showcase his sharp teeth and the growl rumbling from his throat. Ezio, though, let out a frightened cry and dashed behind his mommy's leg to try and hide. And from the shadows of the trees and underbrush came shaggy looking men wearing clothes that reminded of cowboys in old Wild West movies. Their hats were made of fine black leather that matched their boots. The ponchos of the men fluttered in the breeze of late noon, just like the colors of the wind as it rushed passed the many hues of thread woven together. And they were armed to the teeth with pistols, revolvers and rifles, all directed towards the summoner mages. Cue moment of déjà vu. This wasn't the first time the mages found themselves surrounded and at gunpoint.

The leader of the wild bunch stepped forward, the lean man using a hunting knife to shake the black stubble of his chin. "Put 'em up ladies." He chuckled gruffly, glancing at them over the sharp blade that reflected the dangerous look in his ebony eyes.

"See, Gabs," Madeline sighed deeply with a shake of her head. "This is what happens when Kidd decides to be a Yonko."

Gabriella took the comment as a grain of salt since she wasn't worried, not one bit. Sure, her crew was a bit banged up after the tussle with two Emperors, but that didn't mean she was. She didn't get the chance to fight Copy Cat like she thought she would, which meant she was raring and ready for a fight, almost inching for one. She hadn't had a good brawl in a while; bounty hunters should be a good release. She was eager for this.

It was obvious when she felt the corner of her lips curl into an impatient smirk and she dropped Hamish's leash to place her twitchy hand to the hilt of her sword.

The bounty hunters tensed when they saw there would be resistance. The leader even nicked his skin with his knife when he growled. There was a silent stare down between the two, hand on hilt and another hovered over holster.

Though everything shattered with confusion.

"That-!" The voice came from the shadow, the sentence completely by a loud cough.

It was loud, harsh, and it seemed like the unknown person was choking on air. The two pirates and group of bounty hunters looked around with puzzled expressions, listening to the whooping cough and trying to figure out what the hell was going on and where and who this person was. But nothing seemed to be happening, and the opponents were ready to clash once more.

But yet again, they were interrupted.

"Oh bother, Penelope," was the only hoarse words said before blood was spilled.

One bounty hunter, then two and there. Blood gushed from open wounds, streaming from open flesh and staining the cobblestone underfoot. Heads plopped to the ground, rolling into the grass beside lifeless bodies that cluttered the area.

The bounty hunter leader saw the threat, knew the threat personally and it gleamed in his dark eyes. Before he could lose any more men, he called an immediate retreat.

Then it was just the summoner mages and the dogs on the lonely path caked with blood and corpses.

Or so they thought.

The coughing that had distracted them before was back, and right behind them. The summoner mages whipped around, pups barking or crying at their feet as they saw the mystery man.

He stood with a noble aura as he held his chin high, cane tucked under his arm and his free hand tipping the thick brim of his top hat. Droplets of blood stained the silk of his ebony suit, and there was a tiny trickle on his pale cheek.

He peered down at the summoner mages, his crimson eyes inserting them thoroughly as he watched Gabriella quickly shift into an offensive stance as Madeline ducked into the defensive behind the ginger.

He let out a tiny breath of air from his nostrils and then he spoke. "Salutations, Madame Roland and companions," he greeted them with a tip of his top hat. "I hope you are faring well on this glorious afternoon. It is an upmost wonderful day for a breezy stroll through this quaint little park."

Gabriella was momentarily stunned by the tone and dialect, but the she shook it off and eyed him suspiciously. "…Do I know you?" She asked slowly and unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Why of course not!" The tall man admitted with a careless flick of his wrist, but there was something off about the action, and that is when Gabriella saw that it wasn't the man, but a disembodied gloved hand floating beside him. "Isn't she such a silly dame, Penelope; such a silly dame," the man chuckled as his fingers fiddled with the tip of handlebar mustache. "Oh, it's time for tea."

And like a magicians magic trick, the man took off his top hat and his lovely pair of gloved of an assistant took out tea pot and matching cup

"…"

"…"

The summoner mages were in shock, their eyes wide as they watched the pair of gloves pour steaming tea into the little cup and the hand it off to the man.

Gabriella then shook her head, finally finding her voice. "Alrighty then..." She slowly started. "Just, um, who are you?"

"I, silly dame, am known as Sinclair by the people of this world," Sinclair bowed gracefully, holding out his arms, his cane in one hand and his boiling tea in the other. "But the name bestowed upon me by my father is _Bás Ar Uasal_."

"Oh!" Madeline perked up, a faint smile on her lips. "You're one of Sane's children."

"That is correct," Sinclair nodded and took an elegant sip of tea. "I have been searching for my father and siblings for quite a time, yet I fear I get distracted quite easily, sadly. Penelope, dear, another cup of tea," and he held out the empty tea cup to the pair of gloves still holding the pot.

"…I see." Gabriella slowly said as she watched the gloves pour more tea for their master.

"Yes, tea is very so calming on the nerves," Sinclair sighed heavily and blissful smile on his lips. "Also, I have a terrible case 'frog-in-the-throat' and my voice is rather hoarse, I am afraid. Oh, it's just horrible I tell you."

"…Eh?" Madeline quirked a brow.

"Oh, a hoarse throat gets my whiskers in a bundle," Sinclair complained as he puckered his lips and wiggled his mustache. "It's hard to holler my battle phrases, I will have you know. As you just witness only mere minutes ago. Oh, it was a pitiful sight, and rather humiliating as well. I have to be like a Sir in primitive tussles; it's the mustache code."

"…The what's it?" Gabriella questioned.

"The mustache code, it's in the handbook," and once again, when Sinclair removed his hat, the gloves at his side pulled out a thick leather book that had the printed in gold on the front.

"…Why are we talking about this?" Gabriella then asked the most important question.

"To tell the honest truth, Madame Roland, I have forgotten," Sinclair was frank, and he shrugged shamelessly as he said it. "I told you I get distracted often, which is why I turn to you for help on finding my father."

"Well, um, he's not here." Gabriella answered. "He's with the Heart Pirates."

"Ah, I read about them in the paper." Sinclair snapped his fingers. "Outstanding! You have helped me a great deal. Now, I must be off. Tootle-doo~!" And then he was gone in a puff of black smoke.

* * *

><p>After the walk, the summoner mages shuffled their way back to the hotel, puzzled expressions on their faces. One could not clearly describe what they went through; maybe the words strange or odd would work.<p>

Gabriella sluggishly made her way to Kidd where he stood with her little pups at her heels. The redhead looked to be having a meeting with the inner circle of his crew, surrounding a table filled with papers. When she was at his side, she collapsed against his form.

Kidd turned to her, his arm hooking around her waist for support and he gazed at her with concern in his eyes. "You look pale…" Kidd stated slowly. "What's up?"

"N—nothing," Gabriella muttered as she mustered up her strength so she was on her own two feet and not clinging to his side. "Just met a weirdo today," then she looked up at him, saying: "You look peachy though."

"Heh," Kidd chuckled with a smirk. "That's 'cause we're goin' on a treasure hunt."


	109. Chapter 106: Static

**So, I'm in college now, again. I had a hectic day, from breaking down on the turnpike, being two hours late and then spending five hours figuring out what the hell was wrong with my internet connection (and that could be considered it's only little hell inside of a bigger hell). ...Yay. You, my little honey bears, were very close to not getting a chapter for who knows how long, but that is not the case anymore. You get your Sane cookies on Sunday night (according to my time), as always.**

Girl-luvs-manga: Eh, not really... O.o

Alpenwolf: That...is a strange feeling to have, xD!

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: It's just a theme I'm going with, and another kid! How many does Sane have! Guess and you get a mini! And true, not many are out there unless it's a romance (and I don't like the Kidd and Killer pairing (I'm Law and Kidd all the way)), so yeah. xD My Killer gets away with a lot of shit.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Hey, bros gotta bust each others chops (I have no idea since I'm not a guy therefore I'm totally guessing from what I see among the male population), so Chamberlain OF COURSE will point it out. xD Like Killer would do the same to Kidd, it's like...a weird triangle thing...freaky.

Narunosuke-Namikaze-Uchiha: Sinclair with an afro...cool image, but that's all Brookie, no one can copy Brook's awesome style for he is the Soul King!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

**P.S.: There are probably mistakes in here...just because you guys know how I am after two years. I suck at editing. Waiting for a beta...someday...**

**P.S.S.: I feel this chapter might be...lacking...also due to the day I had (plus week if I think about it because I was on vacation), so yeah...but I gave you an epic ending! :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 106: Static<p>

She stood at his side, clinging to his hand until her arm was practically shaking. There was a tiny return squeeze to her hand from Kidd, the redhead spending her a silent message to calm down. The summoner mage couldn't though. She chewed on her bottom lip anxious, her eyes rapidly moving over the maps laid out on the table, charts courtesy of Jeremy's big book of everything. They were making plans for a special kind of raid and she was relatively hyper about it.

Kidd, Killer, Chamberlain and Heat stood around the table with her watching over them as they all discussed the terrain of the island; it was an unforgivable piece of earth. Barely any trees safe for the one little park the city held close to their hearts and a fresh water spring nestled far in the mountains. Most people of the island didn't travel to the spring for two reasons, according to what Heat dug up from after town.

One, the path to the spring was narrow and unpredictable, for reasons the islanders kept to themselves as if it were a bad omen. Heat had asked multiple people about what was so mysterious in the deep mountains, but they all said the same thing.

"_The mountains of the island sucks the life out of everything, it's better to just stay at the bay._"

Then the men and women would go on some tangent about the warm waters or imports from various islands nearby. After questioning ten people and getting nothing new, Heat had decided to drop it, but that didn't mean he didn't warn his fellow mates. Something was amiss in those mountains, and they needed to be wary.

And the second reason, there was the little known bounty hunter group known as the Wild Bunch spending their stay there. Chamberlain had found some dirt on the bounty hunters, retelling what he had discovered. They popped up after the War at Marineford when a surplus of pirates entered the New World and they have surprisingly taken out a few known names such as Captain Tommy-Tomahawk and also the Queen Captain Bee. They weren't Supernova status, but they were up on the leader board to be considered a threat.

Killer heard a rumor going around town that the Wild Bunch had caged up some new bounties that totaled a sum of 600 million beli. With their current funds and plus new addition, they would have enough to buy much needed supplies and also pocket some for later.

Now, they just needed a plan. Luckily with well-drawn maps, Gabriella could easily warp them all to the supposed location of the Wild Bunch camp. Bad news was they wouldn't be able to bring the entire crew, but that was for the best. Most of the men were still hurt from the Battle of Zo, still wrapped in bandages and casts; only a few were fully recovered, which were the men standing at the table currently.

They would under the cover of night for a surprise attack. Heat and Chamberlain tried to press for a sneakier route, but Kidd and Killer would have nothing to do with that. The captain and his first mate were eager for a bloody fight even when outnumbered. They were all bullheaded and wanted to do it one way or another. They needed a tie breaker, and Gabriella was the perfect person to do it.

Considering her excitement already for a chance to fight, her answer was clear. "We should go all out," she replied with a smirk. "One less bounty hunter crew would be better for us, anyway, right?"

"Heh," Kidd grinned, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he draped an arm across his summoner mage's shoulders. "Looks like it's our way this time, eh?"

"Hmph," Chamberlain scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I still have a bad feeling about this. Remember what Heat brought up?"

"We'll be fine," Killer waved it aside nonchalantly. "We've been in bigger messes before where we didn't know what the hell we were getting into."

Heat sighed, his tattooed shoulders slumped and his head hung low as he shook it back and forth. "I hope you guys are right about it."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Gabriella gave them a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Kidd jerked his head towards his girlfriend. "What she said."

Chamberlain sighed deeply through his nose. "Well, only one thing to do now."

Kidd chuckled darkly. "Time to ship out."

* * *

><p>Daniel examined himself in the mirror hanging on the door, hands on his hips as he twisted to and fro. He was inspecting his new weapons tucked away in their sheaths. On the belt around his hips was the duel short swords his mentor had given him when he started training, then the small throwing knifes nestled in the belt strapped across his belt was the most recent addition. Daniel had been practicing with the crew in bars. They liked to play darts with daggers and knifes; it added thrill, they said.<p>

Though, Daniel—while practicing—had earned himself a bit of beli through bets. The crew said he cheated because Killer taught him, but it was their own fault they didn't learn from the best.

And since he was learning from the best, he was confident he was ready for that raid; to protect Gabriella of course.

"You look like a self-conscious female doing that," Benjamin stated off handedly. "Just as Madeline did every morning when she spoke about how she would win Mister Killer's heart that day."

Daniel whipped his head around and scowled angrily at the baby bear. Though, despite being upset with Benjamin, he remained complete silent and refused to argue with a talking bear of all things. Instead, he looked at Hamish and Ezio who were at his feet. "The weapons look alright?" he asked him.

Hamish barked excitedly as he trotted around the door, the reflection of his head bobbing up and down at the edge of the mirror. Daniel didn't know if Hamish was answering his question or if he just wanted to leave the room to run around the ship. At least it was a better reply than Ezio who just yawned widely and then went over to curl up in a tight ball beside Kilrain. Daniel swore that Kilrain slept almost the entire day unless Chamberlain or Gabriella were near.

"Hmph," Benjamin huffed as he turned the page of his book. "Speaking to a canine that does not care for human weapons does not make it better."

"And how do you know that?" Daniel tried his best to sound calm rather than completely annoyed.

"I can commutate with him, obviously." Benjamin shook his head with a sigh.

Daniel, again, didn't reply because he felt that arguing with a bear was useless. Plus, he felt that Benjamin was going through puberty before him. Yes, he knew about puberty thanks to Doc, because Doctor Dick was really blunt when he wanted to be; _very_ blunt.

Also, because the door opened, revealing Killer in the doorway. "Daniel, Jeremy wants to know if you did your homework."

"I did!" Daniel replied with a nod. "I put it in his room."

"Really?" Killer tilted his head to the side. "Where'd you put it?"

"…On his desk." Daniel answered slowly. "Why?"

Killer scoffed his head rolling just like his eyes behind the mask. "I told that boy a million times to organize his shit," the first mate grumbled under his breath. "Having all that brain won't help if he can't find a stupid essay on World History."

"…Um," Daniel mumbled, blinking his eyes behind a veil of blonde bangs. "Um, yeah, anyway, can I go with you on the raid, pretty please?" the boy asked politely.

"It's dangerous," was all Killer said.

"But I've been practicing all the things you've taught me," Daniel countered with passion in his very soul. "I've gotten real good, too! You've said it yourself and others think so, too! I'll be able to handle this for sure!"

Killer was silent for a moment, taking in the burning words of his protégé before he merely said: "Okay."

"_Yes!_" Daniel jumped in the air, pumping both his fists over his head.

"What's all the commotion about?" The smooth tone of the summoner mage came from the hallway and then Gabriella appeared in the doorway beside Killer, which caused the dogs to scurry from their places and to her feet, waiting their turn to get a pat on the head.

"I'm going on the raid with you guys," Daniel anxiously told the summoner mage with a bright smile.

Gabriella's eyes open wide and she looked down upon the child before her. "Absolutely not!" She countered sharply, her motherly aura sinking in.

"_What?_" Daniel gasped, his jaw dropping. "But Killer said I could go!"

Gabriella shot a murderous glare towards the masked blonde, and Killer almost looked to be sweating bullets. After holding the harsh scowl for a good minute, she looked back to Daniel with a softer look. "Honey, I'm sorry, but it's dangerous," then she glanced back to the first mate. "I'm sure Killer said that much."

"I did," was all Killer said.

Gabriella then looked back to Daniel. "Next time, Dannie, when you're just a bit older. Okay, honey?"

Daniel hung his head and looked down at his toes, trying to hide his disappointed pout. "Okay…" he murmured quietly.

Gabriella merely gave him a tiny smile and then crouched down to plant a kiss to her baby's cheek. "I'll see you when we get back," then herding the pups back into room with the boy and bear, she shut the door.

* * *

><p>Gabriella never felt so infuriated in her life. She loved Kidd, she really did, but constantly jumping in front of her for a fight was not cool. Sure, he was being the big macho boyfriend that protects his girlfriend from harm, but seriously, he needed to take a tiny step back so she could get some fucking action.<p>

Her she was, sword at the ready, bracing herself for the ultimate attack that would wipe the bounty hunters straight off the map. But instead, she was stuck in her own little pity cornet, scowling as her beloved shielded her from harm, and also blocked her blade.

She just stood there as the four men ravished the fight like hounds at raw steak. It was terrible, absolutely terrible. Even when a bounty hunter tried to charge her, thinking it was an easy opening, she did not flinch. There was no need to when Kidd would tackle the poor bastard and slice his throat in two before the enemy could even see what hit him.

In matter of minutes, the fight was down and over with and not once did she see a shred of blood on her sword. It was as if the only reason she was there in the first place was to bring the men to the battle and then help take them back; major mistreatment of her powers.

"That was fun." Kidd chuckled darkly, his lips pulled back into a wicked sneer as he wiped the blood splattered on his cheek with the back of his hand.

"And messy," Chamberlain dully added his two cents while stepping over the corpse of a bounty hunter in his way.

"Hmph," Kidd grunted and rolled his eyes in annoyance at the navigator, but then he looked his summoner mage. "Did you have fun, babe?" He asked with a coy smile.

Gabriella merely glowered at him, her furious expression making Kidd step back with a puzzled look on his face. She huffed at his expression, ignoring the look in his eyes asking what he did wrong; it wasn't him, but the situation. Stupid situations, she rolled her eyes at the thought and was about to return her sword to its sheath when it happened.

The earth started to shake violently, making the group of pirates stumble and also the cages full of bounty heads rattled with the quakes. Gabriella had noticed that the pirates within the cage were unsettlingly quiet for some reason, hell, even when the approached the Wild Bunch camp it was calm, eerily calm. Now, she knew why: they were hiding.

Monstrous creatures came from the caves, like worms burrowing out of their holes. They were slimy beasts, a thick skin that glistened like wet clay in the moonlight. Atop their large heads were no eyes, the beasts were completely blind to the world, the only thing guiding them were vibrations through the earth, and their mouths.

Three giant clay worms rose high into the air like snakes showcasing their colors, and then they let out a terrible screech. The high pitched wail stunned them all, making every person with ears cover their heads to try and block the death-defying sound. Yet it was to no prevail until it stopped, a shattering clash following the last night of the might shriek.

"_Stop them!_" Killer bellowed to the others quickly. "_They're gonna kill the bounties!_"

It was urgent, but Gabriella couldn't help but smirk. Finally, she would get a taste of battle this time, for sure. They needed to plan something and she already had an idea: ice. The beasts looked to be made of wet, freezing them would turn them to pure ice, especially with demonic magic. And since she was just a little bit upset, she would add devilish fire to the mixture; that would cause an explosion of a lifetime.

Without another moment of delay, she held fast to her blade and swung it with all her might as she screamed: "_Caden's Demonic Sword: Ice!_"

The chilly rays of crystal sprouted from the sword, making the warm wastelands convert into a wintery restore. The clay worms reacted violently, their earth husks clattering from the cold and soon their bodies stopped quivering all together as they turned to icy stone.

Gabriella grinned at her handiwork, but it was for naught.

Three large worms were present, but in the shadows hid a four that let out a piercing scream. The ice shattered, and not in the way Gabriella had hoped. The clay worms were free once more, slightly shaking from the bitter cold, but alive nonetheless. Also, none too happy.

She had to think of a plan B or else they would be fighting PMSing worms for longer than they had wanted or expected.

Then, a light bulb went off in her head: fire. She should have used fire. Clay became fragile stone when heated, and if the worm had screamed like that when they were hardened, well, her and her mates problems would have decreased by three.

She was ready to clean up her mistake, but Kidd was already on it.

He jumped in front of her, shielding her with his back and he roared: "**Heat!**"

The second mate jumped into action and from the belly of his form, he spewed flames upon the beasts like a mighty dragon. Fire lit up the night sky, the glow so intense that it looked as if the sun were rising, and once the blaze had passed, simmering down to nothing but ash, the clay worms were frozen in time, their skin hardened to nothing but stone.

Gabriella would admit she kinda screwed up in the first place, so she wasn't made that Kidd jumped in… But, when he got to spear the four beasts with scrap metal from the cages, she was not a happy camper. Once again, someone else got the final blow. Not fair.

Kidd then turned to her, a faint smile on his lips. "You okay?" He questioned softly.

Gabriella said nothing and merely scowled at him, sheathed her sword and then walked away in an angry huff, leaving poor Kidd in complete confusion.

* * *

><p>Gabriella took a long bath after that poor excuse of a battle. She soaked until her tan skin turned scarlet. She left the bathroom looking like a lobster and she didn't give a damn. She ignored Kidd for the most part; not necessarily angry with him, just simply upset with how the situation turned out.<p>

As she dried her hair with a towel, she glanced over to her boyfriend that lounged on the bed. He sat with his back pressed against the backboard, a blanket over his legs and at his side was their two sleeping pups, Hamish and Ezio curled up peacefully for the night. And also, there was a book in his lap; one of his many astrology texts he had tucked away. He must have grabbed one from the ship after he dropped off the rest of the beli from the bounties head once the supplies was bought.

Then she looked away, continuing to towel dry her hair.

And then she did a double take.

"Are you _reading?_" She asked in disbelief; she rare saw Kidd reading, hell, she felt she never saw him read a book before.

Kidd glanced up at her, cocking his head to the side in confusion. "Yeah? Somethin' wrong with that?"

"Well...no," Gabriella replied slowly as she fiddled with the damp fabric of the towel. "Just shocked that's all," she admitted with a shrug.

"Just like how I was shocked when you got angry at me for no fuckin' reason." Kidd returned as he looked back to his book, an irritated expression on his face.

Gabriella sighed, tossing the towel onto the couch and then walked over to him. "It wasn't you," she murmured as she climbed into bed and then snuggled up close to his side, Hamish and Ezio readjusting to sit comfortably in her lap. "It was the situation."

"Hmph," Kidd grunted, frown on his lips, yet he still draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "And what's the situation?"

"You didn't let me fight," she whined with a childish pout.

Kidd looked down at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"Your violent trait as rubbed off on me," she muttered under her breath.

Kidd chuckled and leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "Why didn't ya say that before? I would'a let you have some kills."

Gabriella huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I've decided that our second date will be a raid on a Marine Base where we kill everyone."

Kidd's brows furrowed. "Why wasn't that our first date?"

* * *

><p>Dreams weren't supposed to feel so real. It was cold, so cold she could feel the goose bumps rise on her skin and she heard her chattering teeth pound against her ears. Where was she? Gabriella had no idea. Her dreams were usually so faint and would almost always fade away by the time she woke up, but this felt…so surreal. Like she would never forget it.<p>

The world was so white though, why would she remember nothing but wispy white fog surrounding her?

Maybe, it was because of the being that stood before her.

"Mortalitas…" Gabriella stood in shock before the God of the Dark Arts.

Mortalitas's images was like static going in and out, his form barely there one minute and then gone another. She couldn't clearly see him, but she knew it was him. She didn't need to see the aura of dark power radiating from the god, even in a dream. Choppily, she saw his arm reach out to her, the black fabric of his cloak shifting away to reveal his hand covered in ebony armor. "_G—Gabriella…_" his words were a mere whisper, like his connection to her was weak. "_Power…lost—co—come—__Regnum carcere__—__emergency,_" and then he disappeared.


	110. Chapter 107: To the RC

First, special thanks to praeses and Kiteria for all the lovely reviews (and edits T.T).

Velonica14: I have a method to my madness...and Dannie is ten.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: There is something..."else" that Mortalitas is dealing with.

Alpenwolf: Your questions shall be answered here.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Gabriella will get some action soon, I promise.

**Second: This may be a boring chapter, but it's important. I tried really hard to make sure the errors were fixed since I saw that I really, _really_ suck at editing...so I apologize beforehand my honey bears.**

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 107: To the RC.<p>

The static shattered back to reality, and Gabriella woke up in a cold sweat. She gasped for air violently, shooting up in bed. The cold of night kissed her exposed skin when the blanket fell into her lap. Anxious from the vivid message, her fingers curled against the sheets, her fists trembling uncontrollably. Though, the voice of the dark god was choppy and his image just as fuzzy, the message was still clear, crystal clear.

Fear struck her eyes as the worst possible scenarios came to mind and in a fit of panic, she straddled Kidd's hips and grabbed his shoulders, shaking them aggressively to wake him from sleep.

The redhead snorted, a sneer curling his lips as he cracked his eye to scowl at her in pure annoyance. Kidd was not a morning person whatsoever, and Gabriella was lucky she was pretty or else bad things would happen to her. Groaning, he snapped his eyes shut again and then rolled his head to the side in a feeble attempt to ignore her.

"_Kidd~!_" She whined desperately, shaking his shoulders even more viciously than before. "Please wake, please! I need you!"

Aside of Kidd gave way to her word, but the response made the summoner mage pause; not the reaction she wanted. The annoyed sneer on his face turned into a sly smirk and the gleam in his eyes was feverish as his fingernails dug into the skin of her thighs. "You need me, eh?" He purred huskily, eyeing her deviously.

Rage boiled in her blood for being misunderstood and she slapped him. She whipped her palm across his cheeks so hard that it left a big red handprint, the whiplash stunning him momentarily. He stared at her with wide eyes, his head forced to the side, but then he shook it off and snapped his attention back on her and growled like a feral animal.

Then he sat up abruptly and trapped her in his lap, hands on her biceps to secure her firmly in place. "What the hell?!" He barked, his brows knotted in fury as he glowered down upon her.

Gabriella ignored the sharp pain of his metal fingers digging into her skin, and instead snapped back at him. "It's not like that Kidd! Get your mind out of—out of the gutter! It's—" her angry fizzled to nothing but sparks and she hung her head, her chin touching her collarbone and she lightly pounded her fists to his broad chest. "I—it's not like that…"

Kidd picked up on the hint that this was serious and he loosened his grip, his hands sliding down her arms to rest on her hips. "What's wrong?" The sharp tone in his voice was gone and he completely ignored the burning on his cheek and instead cradled hers and force her to look him in the eyes.

They may have been face to face, but she still avoided his gaze. "I—I—" She stuttered, biting her lower lip nervously as she placed her hand over his. "I need to go home…"

"…Eh?" Kidd murmured, his brows knitting together in confusion.

"I need to go home," She repeated, looking back up at him with a serious look gleaming in her eyes. "I need to go back to _Regnum carcere_."

* * *

><p>Dawn was still two hours away, but the crew was already lively with activity before the day officially started. It was an emergency though. Gabriella was panicked, and it spread like a virus to Madeline and Bedros. The magic users were jumpy with anxiety of what was happening on their homeland and Calamity. There was no word of crises on the island of magic from the minor deity, and the worst case scenario was hanging over their heads like a bad storm. And to ease their minds, Kidd made the ultimate decision that they would go to <em>Regnum carcere<em> to see what was going on. A small group at least, as in two; Gabriella and him.

"We'll be gone for three days tops," Kidd told his first mate as they walked out to the center of the deck. "Gabriella is preparing for the warp. She hasn't done something this long distance in years…" he sighed, leaning one hand against the mast and the other rested on his hip. "I hope she can handle it," he murmured as he looked to the ground. "Madeline brought up a magic barrier that makes it harder to travel through. Plus, it could tip the Council off…"

Killer put a reassuring hand on his captain's shoulder. "I'm sure it'll go as planned. At least you don't have to worry about the crew; Heat and I will hold the fort down."

Kidd exhaled sharply through his nose and closed his eyes in deep thought. "I know, I just have a bad feeling in my gut."

"Understandably," Killer nodded and patted the redhead's shoulder. "Don't stress out just yet. You've only got a message, a static one no less. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems."

"Maybe, maybe," Kidd mumbled, but he wasn't sure; no, nothing of this felt right to him. There was that bad feeling in the back of his mind and he didn't like it, not at all.

"I'm ready to go Kidd." Gabriella then appeared, a frown on her lips.

She had said goodbye to her babies and looked torn. Ezio was still just a puppy and he was crying for his mommy in Bedros's arms and Hamish was just as distraught as his little brother as the older pup sat at the stone devil's feet with his head hung low. Daniel and Benjamin were upset as well. The bear cub had gotten used to Gabriella's love—and Gabriella had calmed down just a bit as well—and he was going to miss the bedtime stories she tried to do every night. And Daniel waited to go; he wanted to protect the summoner mage for everything she had done for him, from the very moment she saved him from death.

Gabriella was in a state of mind most never saw her in, and they all wanted to help; it was what a crew did.

Gabriella tried to hold strong, but her façade was breaking, the mask was breaking and Kidd could see she was in the verge of tears. They didn't even know what was going on and she too felt that bad feeling in her gut. Her god contacted her through a dream, a static message that only said there was an emergency at her home. Her head was probably a mess, it was a surprise she held the focus to open the portal. She walked in without a second glance.

Kidd signed at her reaction, but shook his head and then turned to Killer one more time. "If anything happens, try and contact me via den-den mushi. Seriously."

Killer waved it aside casually. "I know, I know," the masked blonde sighed. "But put a little more faith in your crew, will ya?"

"I trust you guys, just not the world," Kidd scoffed.

"Yeah, whatever," Killer huffed. "Just don't worry about the crew; we got it under control."

"Yeah!" Madeline chimed in, a look of determination burning in her brown eyes. "Me and Baby Killer got it—"

The crew took a step back as Killer whirled around on his heel and performed a prefect roundhouse kick that sent the thin summoner mage flying and into a collection of barrels in the corner. The act was amazing just enough that the crew actually gave him a round of applause.

That didn't make Killer feel any better about the situation. The masked blonde was trembling with rage. "You're lucky you're my best friend, you fucking ginger," Killer hissed bitterly through his teeth. "Now get out of here."

Ironically, the misfortune of his first mate made him feel better. "Heh," he chuckled, giving Killer a mock salute. "Good luck, you fucking pansy."

* * *

><p>The sun was setting when they arrived in the fabled land of <em>Regnum carcere.<em> Kidd blinked, taking in the sight and it hit him; what a mind fuck. It felt as if he and his summoner mage were only within the wormhole for a second, made even less. The portal was like a door; you were in one room, pass through the doorway and then you are in another. Though, when passing through a doorway, hours of daylight doesn't disappear in a blink of an eye.

"Kidd…" Gabriella voice broke his chain of thought, her fingertips brushing against his arm. "You look paler than usual…"

"…Over twelve hours have passed," Kidd slowly replied.

"It was the barrier," Gabriella explained with a sigh. "It interferes with all magic…and allows the Council to see who comes in and out. But, Calamity found a loophole by going slow and the magic thins out of the progression of time—" she paused when she saw the look of utter confusion quickly appearing on Kidd's face. "Um," she scratched the side of her pink-tinted cheek. "I guess it's kinda hard to understand…it's magic, let's just leave it at that, 'kay?"

Kidd merely nodded.

"Alright then," Gabriella moved the subject along to something different. "We should go see Calamity at the school. She and Jovus have a few night classes for the older kids there that can't come during the day during work."

Kidd's brow rose, curious of the last comment. "Work? Like…"

"No, no, no," Gabriella shook her head violently. "Nothing like that. _Comoinis _is rather traditional in family businesses so some kids help their parents during the day and they take small classes from sunset to midnight."

"...That's a lot of school," Kidd commented with a grimace.

"It's not the average school," Gabriella corrected simply. "It's more of an independent study type of deal. The students come after and then stay as long as they need to. Jovus or Calamity give some guidance and then the kids are on their own."

"Hmph," Kidd huffed. "Wish that was how all school were like."

"Either way, you'd probably fail," Gabriella teased as she started to skip away with a smile.

"_Hey!_" Kidd snapped back, offended by what she said, but it was worth it to see her smile.

"I'm only kidding," She giggled sweetly as she grabbed his hand and then wrapped her free arms around his. "Now let's go. We have to go the long way around town."

"Hmm?" Kidd hummed with a puzzled expression.

Gabriella smiled sheepishly, a nervous blush on her cheeks. "Just because I'm under Calamity's protection in _Comoinis_ doesn't mean all people agree with it…"

Kidd scowled at the thought; damn bastards...

"Plus," Gabriella added quickly. "Just because RC is hidden from most the world, doesn't mean people don't know who you are, especially since I'm traveling with you, too," and she winked at him before continuing on in the silence of the fading light.

Kidd pursed his lips in thought. The twelve hour time gap must have affected Gabriella even if it felt like a second. She wasn't as panicked as she was in the morning. She was back to her normal self, a bit stiff, he could tell by the way she held his hand, but still, she was smiling freely. Maybe it was because nothing seemed to be amiss at first glance, or maybe because she got to make fun of him. If it meant he got taunted by her, then so be it. In the long run, if it made her feel better, she could tease him all she wanted to.

They walked through the forest, walking passed many tall tree with thick trunks and a heavy canopy above. The bark looked whimsical to the eye as Kidd inspected it; the shell of the tree's almost having spiral swirls carved into the deep brown hue. Even the leaves had that enchanted feel, the large leaves like a wall, blocking the orange glow of the sun. The light barely made it through, only cracks kissing the surface of the earth. Kidd wouldn't lie; the place felt magical. The old yet wise aura pierced his skin and made him shuddered at the strange chill. He wondered if Gabriella felt the same thing, or not; maybe she was just used to it. He was about to ask her about the curious observation, but he was distracted.

There was a tiny break in the tree, revealing the quick drop of a cliff to his side. The sight due his eye and he stopped to look that way. They were high in the rolling hills that overlooked the valley and bay, and nestled between the grooves of earth was a large city full of light. The tiny house were cluttered together, forcing the streets to be narrow like alleyways. The homes, stores and even churches were a deep shade of crimson, bricks blending together to look like a sea of red and black. And every little window allowed the yellow light of lanterns and candles to brighten the city as night slowly approached.

Though, the one building that stood out the most in the city was the castle. It rose up like a phoenix out of the ashes, the castle built right into the cliff. Kidd would admit it, it was a prefect piece of architecture that he could describe with words. He could only stare.

His summoner mage walked up to his side, her hand in his. "That's Pompeii, my home," Gabriella said with a sweet smile.

Kidd glanced down at her and cocked a brow. "Volcano?" He asked.

Gabriella let out a short laugh. "No, nothing like that to harm the people," she replied, but then she gave him a semi-serious look. "And I'll like to keep it that way, please."

"Hmph," Kidd scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Like I'd do that."

Gabriella just giggled at his response and pulled his hand, dragging him away from the site and onward to Calamity's school.

It was short walk from where they were, the school in a small clearing and looked like nothing he had seen before. It was untraditional from what Kidd was used to, that's for sure. It was merely three little buildings made of thick grey stone and roofs made of straw and hay. Through the glass window, Kidd sneaked a peek inside and saw the desks, very small desks. It was probably for the younger children that studied summoner's magic at the school. Still, on the outside the school looked like three little cottages from a fairytale, just with a lot of kids running around in the front yard. Teens that looked like they were between the ages of thirteen or fourteen stood around a short man, listening and soaking up every word like a sponge. The man spoke lively with his arms, and upon closer inspection, Kidd saw that the short man had the same pointed ears as his summoner mage. He was an elf.

The students dispersed from their elven teacher when they were dismissed back into the classrooms to study and practice, and Gabriella took her chance to sneak up on elf.

"Jovus!" She shouted with a smirked and slapped her hands down on the elf's shoulders.

The elf Jovus let out a shriek of shock, the high pitched sound something no respectable man should be able to create. Then he whipped around, his eyes wide. "_Gabriella!_" He yelped, stunned at the sudden appearance of the ginger. He was about to say something else, but he shut his trap and his eyes locked onto Kidd as the captain walked up to Gabriella's side. The elf was in shock, his finger moving between the two.

"Gabriella? Captain Eustass?" The familiar voice of Calamity came to ear, the magical being leaving one of the classrooms so she could investigate when her assistant suddenly screeched like a scared little girl, and she sounded just as surprised at Jovus was to see the couple. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you two here?"

"You don't know?" Gabriella's carefree expression flipped to worry as she frowned with furrowed brows. "…Mortalitas sent me a message. It was weak but he told me that there was an emergency here."

Calamity hummed in thought as she crossed her arms over her chest. "There is nothing out of the ordinary, but my…" she paused, and rephrased the sentence. "But Mortalitas wouldn't just send a false message. He has a reason for everything," she frowned and then she turned sharply on her heel. "I'll confide in him. Excuse me. Please stay with Jovus until I come back," and she left the couple in the care of the elf.

Jovus had calmed down, beads of sweat still on his brow, but he calmed down nonetheless. Breathing normally, he was able to speak. "It's good to see you again, little Gabriella," he said with a happy smile. "You've grown so much since I last saw you," he trailed off with a mischievous look in his eyes. "…In power that is."

Gabriella huffed, crossing her arms and turned her head away sharply at the jab against her height, and it didn't help that Kidd only laughed at the joke.

The commotion had caused the students to crowd around the windows and open doorway to eavesdrop on the conversation. They didn't recognized her immediately, but when one student and the connection, they left the classroom in a hurry. They were stunned to see Gabriella, Caden's Heir herself. They came to her in a flood of smiles and awe, excited; the townspeople may have saw her as a potential threat—which she wasn't—but the student summoner mages and saw her as a hero. Kidd was seeing a new light to why his summoner mage loved children so much. They had smiles on their lips as they asked so many questions that she couldn't keep up with, but Jovus stepped in, trying to herd them together. Then the elf suggested that Gabriella talk about Caden Demonic Sword.

The students were more enthusiastic if that was even possible; happy smiles on their faces as they eagerly waited to here all about the famous Demon Blade owned by Caden himself. Gabriella was open to explain, a smile on her lips as she crouched down and sat back on her heels. The sword laid in the center of the circle surrounded by hyper students ready to learn.

Kidd was curious himself as he stood off to the side, his shoulder resting against a tree trunk. He never really understood the true powers of sword; he knew the basics, like the blade harbored six deadly devils of different type of magic and that was it. So, maybe hearing something more detailed would be beneficial. Or maybe just a little history would be interesting to say the least.

Gabriella started with the most common and first magic of the blade: fire. Blaze was the name of the ancient devil that controlled the blaze, a fiery beast that was born of the flames and ashes of the hells. The devil used a mighty cutlass in battle, the giant blade creating large bursts of fire with just the tiniest swing. He was violent and full of rage against the many blood wars between devils and demons slaying its kin only for the sake of territory, slaves, or even just for the fun of it. Caden had made a deal with the Fire King: that he would help his avenge his fallen kin. Though, the promise was never fulfilled due to Caden's sudden passing, but now Blaze's hatred is forever pinned against Copy Cat.

The second of the devils captured by Caden was Tidal, the powerful Water Empress. Despite being a devil, she was calm, collected and composed in all situations. She was known across the hells for her beauty, which drew much attention, especially among the less desirable clans. And rejections for mating did not turnover well in the hells. Her home, her clan, her people, were attacked countless times. But no matter how powerful she was with her enchanted short swords of the sea, the attacks from opposing clans would never cease. Until Caden came. Even at his young age, he showed an example of a powerful clan that tried to attack Tidal's home, and they were left alone. Tidal, forever grateful, joined Caden to repay her thanks.

The third devil in Caden's collect was one that possessed earth magic, and his name was Quaker. The ancient earth devil was bound to Caden's sword after his gauntlets of power failed him in a duel against the young mage himself. Quaker was cocky for hundreds of years, thinking that strength was the only path to victory. Against the young mage though, it was truly a battle of brains over brawns, Caden winning with just a little trick hidden up his sleeve. Quaker, embarrassed by the defeat, gave up his control over earth to Caden, allowing him to add him to the blade so that Caden could use his magic to mold earth like putty in his hands.

Glacier, the most coldhearted devil of them all, the crack of her whip strong enough to destroy the structures she was named after. She seemed flawless just like a perfect piece of icy crystal, but there was one little thing that was considered her a weakness: gambling. She loved to bet, the thrill of chance putting a fire in her icy heart. And a bet was her downfall when the devil lost in a simple game of poker. She even tried to cheat three times so that she wouldn't lose the massive bet she placed on the table, but it was no use. Caden won against the odds and earned the right to control the Icy Princess.

Then there was lightning, an unpredictable magic belonged to Strike, the Thunder Lord. He was a serious devil that took his training and battle just as seriously. Lightning magic was difficult to control, it was like a free spirit that could either help or harm, and Strike tried his best to control his magic, but, one fatal move got him into a deadly predicament. It was a pure accident, but the Chieftain Demon of a powerful clan didn't not care to hear excuses. Strike would have been dead if not for Caden saving him in the nick-of-time. To show his thanks for helping him, Strike pledged to use his spear to protect him and his family as long as he could.

Then lastly there was Dash. As fast as the wind he created, Dash ran through the hells causing mischief as much as she could. She caused might trouble among the clans, and many other powerful devils and demons wanted her dead. She was wanted, hunted. It was hard to trap the speedy devil, but one day she was caged and it was only by fate that Caden stumbled about her prison. Dash pleaded with the mage to release her, but Caden would only release her if she joined him. Dash agreed, but it was a well-crafted lie. Dash tried to escape when Caden opened the prison barrier, but a contract is a contract, and a devil was to live by their contracts. By force, Dash joined the other devils of his blade and had to fight for him.

And that was the story of Caden's Demonic Blade.

Not what Kidd was expecting, but it was entertaining to say the least. Plus, the kids like it; and thing that's all that Gabriella cared about. The students were in awe all of them waiting to touch the blade, but Jovus knew that if any of the children touched the blade, something very bad would happen. Kidd knew that first hand when he accidently grabbed the hilt of the blade one time…he still had the burn mark, faint but still there. So, Jovus herded the flustered students back to their studies, especially since Calamity returned.

"I think I have figured out what Mortalitas was trying to say." Calamity replied, a serious look on her features as she held a bundle of papers in her hands.

"Eh?" Kidd cocked a brow in confusion, eyeing the papers curiously. "What's with the newspaper?"

"This is what his message was about…" and Calamity read the paper aloud.

The group stood in silence, listening to what she relayed the printed story. It was an article about a Marines rising in the ranks. The foretold his future, how his wondrous powers of gold light would bring him to the top in no time. Then even had a quote from the Marine. He wanted to be in only one division, the special one and that is all he could say with a smirk.

"So…" Kidd slowly said after Calamity finished. "A guy's climbing the rank really fast and wants to join a special group within the Marines?" He wouldn't lie, he was confused…

"I'm afraid I have to agree with the young Captain, Mistress Calamity." Jovus felt the same way, his puzzled expression clarifying it completely.

"The Mage Recruiting Division," Gabriella bit out harsher than would have been expected; she looked more upset than she should have been.

Calamity nodded with a grimace on her lips. "The Marines keep it a secret from the public eye, but what really bothers me is the wondrous powers he has."

"It _reeks_ of magic," Gabriella hissed, trembling fists clenched at her sides as she looked away. She bit her lip with red stained cheeks of rage.

Kidd knew that look, he could never forget it; she only talked about it when one thing was brought up. He pieced it together. "Copy Cat… He's still alive."

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><p>Kidd sat beside Gabriella, the two of them overlooking the city Pompeii. The moon's reflection shimmered on the water of the bay. The smell of salt was thick in the air, despite being so far away from the water; the scent was familiar and welcomed to his senses as Kidd took in the deep aroma. It relaxed him at times like these when there was heavy stress overhead and killing wasn't as easy to do, and especially at night went it was calm and quiet and less likely to get a headache.<p>

But Gabriella would beg to differ.

She hadn't spoken a word since she heard the sudden news of Copy Cat still being alive. She just remained curled up in a ball at his side, hiding under the thick fur of his coat like she was trying to escape a nightmare. She was in complete disarray.

And Kidd didn't know how to help her.

He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, but that did nothing to lighten her mood. He had to say something, but what that was, he had not fucking idea. "Hey…" he whispered, lounging out so he could easily rest his head atop of her.

There was only silence, but his summoner mage did shift closer to him, and he swore he heard a small whimper, but it could have been his imagination.

"I know you're upset and worried…and I feel like anything I say can't change that." He frowned deeply at the thought. "This is a deep scar on you and your family, and it can't be better until the bastard's dead. Just know…I'll be at your side, okay?"

There was another moment of silence, Gabriella nestling closer to his side and she merely mumbled in a tiny voice: "…I know."

Kidd didn't press the matter and thought the best course of action would be to leave Pompeii as soon as possible. They had a lot of things to do. "I'm ready to leave when you are."

"…Not yet," Gabriella countered.

"Eh?" Kidd looked down at her, puzzled.

Gabriella slowly uncoiled from her ball and sat normally beside him, but her head was still hung low, her chin touching her collarbone. "Not yet… There's somewhere I want to go first."


	111. Chapter 108: Little Vinnie

Velonica14: Thank you very much for the edits. And...not Ameria's...

Alpenwolf: The Marines won't even know what'll hit 'em... They are in just as much trouble as the mages and pirates now...

Girl-luvs-manga: You shall see.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Law and Kidd fighting Copy Cat...Oh, thank you for the edit, but the way.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Always right on the money...lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

P.S. Sorry for mistakes.

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><p>Chapter 108: Little Vinnie<p>

With the night guiding their way, the couple continued on their way through the woods, the forest getting thicker and thicker as they went on. It was pitch black, so dark in fact that Gabriella had to use her magic to make orbs of light so they could see. The enchanted forest atmosphere changed dramatically, going from fairytale straight to horror film; there were times Kidd thought something would pop out of the trees at any moment, yet nothing did, safe for one thing.

The forest split unexpectedly, the trees framing a large, moonlit villa they stumbled upon.

Kidd was impressed with the size of the building, but it was rundown after years of neglect. The formerly white walls were withering away and were a dull grey, and thick vines hugged the bricks and drilled into the cement that held them in place. There looked to be many shoddy repairs to the windows, the glass that would have been there in the villa's prime were broken and gone, only wooden broads keeping the elements at bay. It was lucky that the weather was rather warm at the moment.

But in the opening, Kidd saw the top of the trees framing the heavy grey clouds creeping closer and closer to the full moon. The obvious sign that it was going to rain soon. And Kidd didn't think that the roof could handle it. The red stone shingles were cracked and loose pieces had fallen from the roof due to the wind. That caused gaping holes to allow elements of all kinds to wander in.

But, despite the decrepit building, Kidd noticed that the front courtyard looked well-tended, like someone cared for it hand and foot. A lot of love went into nursing the fruit trees, exotic flowers, and vegetables plants.

Though, the biggest question Kidd had wasn't _who_ lived here, but _why _did Gabriella want to come here of all place. It…kinda looked like a dump.

Gabriella sighed deeply, hands clasped behind her back and she gazed up at the building fondly. "It's nothing like it used to be, but home is home, right?" she looked to him with a weak smile before walking through the courtyard.

Kidd felt a tiny bead of sweat trickled down his brow; good thing he kept that 'dump' comment to himself. He didn't want to see how she would react to him mildly bashing her home when she was in such a state. She may have looked fine, but she was on a thin edge and he didn't want to be the reason she fell off the cliff.

Instead, he followed after her silently.

"The Roland Villa used to be much prettier," Gabriella continued, reaching out a hand as she walked so her palm could brush against the tiny leaves which caused the thin layer of dew to shift. "But…it's kinda rundown now. Dad's tried to fix the windows so many times but…" she trailed off and suddenly stopped. She sighed deeply as she crouched down and picked up a large rock that was in the pathway. "It's gotten pointless of trying anymore."

"Do people really throw rocks?" Kidd questioned coldly. He bit his lip angrily, _damn bastards_. He hated it when Gabriella was hurt; physically or mentally. He _hated _it when people judged Gabriella by the cover rather than reading her entire book. If they took the time do to that, then they would know the truth. That she wasn't responsible for anything. Hell, not even _Caden_ was responsible. It was that bastard Copy Cat's fault. When Kidd saw that fucking devil, _oh_, he'd—

Suddenly, she placed a hand on his shoulder when she saw the expression growing darker on his face. "It's okay. It's not like it's the _whole_ city, anyway. It's usually the same group of people," Gabriella admitted and then turned to chuck the rock as far as she could into the woods. "Just a rag-tag group. There are a few nobles though, important nobles, which means King Augustus can't do much to help us. But, Dad says he'd rather have a few broken windows rather than a country in disarray."

"Hmph," Kidd grunted; honorable enough, but that didn't mean it made the situation any fucking better.

Gabriella merely chuckled nervously on at his expression and then simply moved on. Grabbing his hand, she guided him to theporchand then she knocked on the front door.

With a large creak, the heavy oak doors opened slowly to reveal the dark interior of the villa, blackness veiling everything so Kidd couldn't see two feet inside.

"Oh my! Young Mistress Gabriella!?" a voice gasped from the shadows. "What a pleasant surprise to see you home!"

Then a lean man stepped forward, and Kidd's eyes opened wide in shock. The mystery man's skin was crimson red and two tiny horns poked out from his forehead. He was a devil…in a butler's suit. "I'm a demon, actually," the butler replied, a kind smile on his lips. "Do not worry, it happens quite often."

Kidd blinked in shock; mind readers, oh, he hated them.

"This is Hans, Kidd," Gabriella explained with a smile. "He's a butler bound by a contract to our family."

"Lulu and myself have been proudly serving the Roland Clan for man generations," Hans stated with pride.

Kidd continued to blink. "Lulu…?"

"That's our maid," Gabriella chuckled. "She's also a demon bound by contract."

"Correct," Hans nodded and then stepped aside and ushered them in with a motion of his arm. "But please, come inside. Lulu is cleaning the parlor. I am sure she'd love to see you again, Young Mistress."

Hans led them through the villa's halls with only a candle to light the way, the place was so dark and Kidd wondered if they had an electricity in this giant villa. If this was because…

Kidd's cheeks flared scarlet red in rage; he hated some people.

Though, his anger simmered down when Hans explained that the power had flickered off due to a faulty piece of machinery in the control panel. It was old and needed to be replace, which was why Jacoby and Vincent were missing from the villa; they went out to the neighboring village to get the correct pieces to fix the controls.

That put Kidd's mind as ease about his suspicions; he couldn't stay here without his blood boiling when someone he loved was getting hurt. But, despite all the shit, Gabriella was smiling. He could still see pain hidden in her eyes, but there was a sincere smile that lit up her face. There was a small shred of happiness, a tiny piece of light she was clinging onto and that was enough to make her happy. It was a good thing they decided to see her family; it was good to see her happy.

Gabriella chatted quietly with Hans as they walked along the halls. Kidd didn't interject into the conversation and just took in the surroundings around him before they were swallowed by darkness again. The major thing he observed was the many portraits of men and women along with families; the oil painting looking worse for wear the older they were. But, Kidd noticed something odd about each painting; none of them looked like Gabriella. There were some facial features that looked the same, such as nose or eye shape, but other than that, there was nothing. A majority had brown hair, matching eyes and pale skin; all the males seemed to look like that. He remembered hearing something about a curse from Calamity which explained the reason for the phenomena, but his memory was hazy. Then he found Gabriella's family portrait.

He actually stopped to examine it. There were two large candles placed atop a table under the painting that hung on the wall, letting him see it even though Gabriella and Hans continued on. Just like the other paintings, Gabriella didn't resemble her family members save for a few redeeming traits; it was easier to compare when she was in the painting. Her father and brother had no traits of Caden, only Gabriella did. The painting was old since Gabriella and her brother were only children. Hell, her brother was only an infant bundled up in a blue blanket in his mother's arms. And Gabriella, she was only a child…she looked so tiny sitting on her father's lap, the man in the painting staring down at him with piercing brown eyes through a veil of bangs.

Kidd wondered for a moment if Gabriella's father would approve of their relationship… If he was a father he sure as hell wouldn't approve of his little girl dating an infamous pirate captain.

…

Kidd shook his head and tossed the thought aside; best not to think about that, right?

"_**Young Mistress~!**_"

The shriek made him flinch, and he felt his eardrums burst from the high pitched squeal of a whiny woman. He whipped his attention around to see that Gabriella's was being smothered into the bosom of a sobbing maid, supposedly Lulu. If the flickering tail behind her and also tiny horns on her forehead didn't give it away.

"_Y—Young Mistress~!_" Lulu sobbed, a waterfall pouring down her cheeks. "_I—I have missed you so much~!_"

Gabriella said something, but her voice was muffled by the crying maid's bust, and it took the help of Hans to pry Lulu away. Lulu still continued to cry and it took much effort for Hans and Gabriella to calm her down. Kidd watched from the side, his brow quirked in curiosity; what a strange bunch of people. There was a mindreading butler and an emotional maid. He was surprised he hadn't gotten annoyed with rage yet. It was probably because this was, like, Gabriella's extended family.

Lulu finally calmed down and composed herself; she stood up straight, hands folded before her and pressed against her apron.

"It's good to see you again, Young Mistress," Lulu repeated in a relaxed tone with matching smile as she bowed her head. "I'm afraid the Head Master Jacoby and Young Master Vinnie are out at the moment."

"I know," Gabriella nodded. "Hans told me about it already, but where's Mom? Is she awake?"

"Ah!" Lulu gasped. "Head Mistress Missy is in the kitchen."

"I shall take you to her," Hans added with a bow.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

"Oh, the door," Hans looked down the hall, the echoing of a fist ricocheting off the walls. "I must answer it, Young Mistress."

"I know the way to the kitchen, anyway" Gabriella giggled, waving Hans on his way. Then, she turned to Kidd with a smile. "C'mon, let's go. Lulu has work to do," and then she grabbed his hand.

Kidd merely nodded, and the two left the maid to her work, but something caught his eye when Gabriella produced orbs of light once more.

His eyes opened wide with shock and he stopped in his tracks.

Was that…was that… "Is that your bounty poster?" and it was framed, too?

_What the fuck?_

Lulu returned from the parlor when she heard the question, a smile on her face and she explained the reason behind it cheerfully. "You see," she started. "Head Master Jacoby wanted to have her bounty poster framed because of you," she pointed to Kidd, making the redhead blink in confusion, but that didn't stop Lulu. "When he saw you two holding hands, Head Master was very excited since he has always been worried that Young Mistress would never get _married_ because of their background."

Upon hearing the explanation, Kidd's cheeks blistered hot pink and his mouth open and closed repeatedly trying to voice his opinion on the subject. Yet, nothing came out. _Marriage?_ That…that was a giant leap over a bottomless pit of a valley. He and Gabriella were serious in their relationship—he wouldn't lie about that—but…but _marriage?_ Isn't that a little too far? Sure, he knew that was Gabriella's dream…but, but…

…

That could wait, right? Just a little longer?

Red still on his cheeks, he glanced to the side to avoid eye contact.

"Ah!" Gabriella gasped and then suddenly slapped her hands onto his back and started to usher him away. "Okay! Thank you, Lulu! I'll go see Mom now, _bye-bye~!_"

"_I shall see you later, Young Mistress~!_"

Kidd could hear Gabriella mumbling embarrassed profanities under her breath as she pushed him further and further away from the servants. At least he wasn't the only person that was uncomfortable with the situation and wanted to bolt. Or Gabriella was just thinking about how he felt. That made him dig his heels into the ground, and the effect was Gabriella ramming into his back.

He whirled around and then grabbed her shoulders. He wanted to say something to her, yet he just stared at her intensely, like he was angry. In a sense he was, but it was only at himself, not her; again, he felt like a dream crushing. But, he couldn't say anything. He couldn't even apologize…

Gabriella tilted her head to the side in confusion, a concerned gleam in her golden eyes. Though, she said nothing and waited for him since his expression screamed that he had something on his mind and wanted to let it out. He shook her shoulders to waste precious time to collect his thoughts, but everything was a complete blur.

"…"

"…"

"…_Gabriella_…?"

Kidd blinked in utter confusion; that wasn't him and it sure as hell wasn't Gabriella either.

They both whipped their heads around, turning their attention to the open doorway. Kidd was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice the things around him. Such as the heavy aroma of stew simmering in the background. Why someone was cooking so late at night was a mystery, but he figured it would be answered shortly when someone came from the darkness, lantern in hand.

It was the same woman from the painting early: Gabriella's mother. She looked older; grey strands of hair mixed in with her short curly locks of blonde hair and her skin worn with age, but there was still a young look in her pink irises. Her eyes were wide with shock, but then she put the lantern on the floor, lifted the extra fabric of her green dress and then rushed over to her daughter and embraced her.

Mother and daughter chatted eagerly, the two still embraced as they spoke to one another. They went on and on about how Gabriella's father and brother had been working out of town for a few days and they would be coming home that night. Her mother was very eager for their return that night and she couldn't sleep. So, she stayed up late making them a homemade meal; she figured they would want some nice food after such a long trip.

The conversation continued, and Kidd just stood on the sidelines, watching the two. Gabriella didn't look much like her mother, the only thing the two had in common was the fact that they were short. Gabriella only looked about an inch or two taller than her mother because of her heels. He felt like a giant in their presence…

"Oh!" Gabriella's mother gasped when she finally noticed him—which Kidd found hard to believe—and she went over to Kidd gazing up at him in awe. Her eyes were wide as she craned her neck back to look all the way up at his face. "You really are that tall…I could tell by the bounty poster, but you truly are a giant…"

Kidd blinked down at the little woman, a blank expression on his face.

"Ahem," Gabriella cleared her throat and intervened. "Most of my relatives are short, safe for my father. He's on the taller side, but…not compared to you in the slightest."

"You make him look like an ant," Gabriella's mother was blunt.

"Mom!"

Gabriella's mother exhaled sharply and crossed her arms. "It's only the truth."

Gabriella merely sighed and shook her head, whereas Kidd just blinked. It was strange that the little old lady wasn't scared of him since he was sorta used to things happening to him, but this was Gabriella's family. Hell, her father framed her bounty poster because they were holding hands.

Kidd felt a bead of sweat trickle down his cheek; what a strange family…

"Oh, Head and Young Mistresses," Hans walked down the hall, hands still folded behind his back. "Masters Mason and George are here," he told them with a bow. "They say it's very urgent."

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><p>Kidd was officially in in a foul mood. Mason, god, he hadn't seen the blockhead in head in a long time and he wished he hadn't seen him again. Ever. Despite the fact that Gabriella was with him, Eustass Kidd, the blockheaded bastard still smothered his girlfriend with unwanted love. If it wasn't for the combined effort of George and Gabriella, shit would have gone down and hell would be blazing. This was Gabriella's home…so Kidd had to show just a little restraint, but that didn't mean his mind was under lock and key.<p>

As the three summoner mages discussed the issue about Copy Cat still being alive, Kidd tried to drill massive holes in the middle of the blockhead's forehead with a murderous glare. Usually, people stepped down, but not this bastard; he scowled right back at him.

The tension was thick, and the only one that seemed effect by it was Gabriella since she was in the middle of it, and somewhat the cause.

Gabriella looked between the two, Mason forced to sit on the opposing couch with George while Kidd and she sat on the other. And Kidd kept her close to his side, arm wrapped around her shoulders so her cheek was pressed against his chest. Then she glanced to George for help. "…M—maybe we can talk about this in the morning…"

"No," George was blunt. "We must make a new plan of action," he repeated as before, pushing his glasses up with his middle finger.

"I know but…" Gabriella trailed off, looking between the two angry men.

"If they really cared about you then they would allow us to focus and not quarrel on petty things," George said the harsh words without a glance of emotion on his face that was exposed by his mask.

The words hit home, Mason and Kidd flinching at the underhanded insult, but they understood. This was for Gabriella and they simmered down, allowing the important issue to be discussed in peace.

"Now that's taken care of," George sighed and then glanced towards Gabriella, the glare on his glasses disappearing so the wary gleam in his eyes was visible. "I must admit you seem to be taking this better than I thought. I would have expected you to be angrier."

Gabriella looked away, a dead look in her eyes as she wrung her hands together in her lap.

"Let's move on," Kidd growled.

"Of course," George nodded and moved along. "As we know, Copy Cat tricked us once more and is still alive—"

There was a sudden gasp from the door, though it was closed, but upon closer inspection the four saw that it was slightly cracked. Kidd stared at the door in confusion, but Gabriella let out a sigh and stood up from the couch and walked across the room. She flung the door open, and then was a high pitched squeal of a growing boy and then Gabriella whirled around, the collar of a young teen's shirt in her hand. The boy was different from the painting, and it wasn't because of his age. His hair was no longer brown, but now it was the same ginger shade as Gabriella's, and his eyes had the piercing golden gleam; he even had pointed ears, too. Not as big as Gabriella's, but pointed nonetheless.

"_Sis!_" Vinnie gasped, sweating bullets of nervous sweat. "W—when did you get back?"

Gabriella sighed and shook her head. "Vinnie…you shouldn't spy."

"But this is about Copy Cat!" Vinnie shouted, rage burning in his golden eyes. "You don't have to handle this alone, sis! I wanna help!_ I'm His Heir, too!_"

Gabriella bit her lip, her brows furrowed and twitched at the declaration. "Vinnie…" she whispered, trying to find the words to say, but it seemed she had trouble thinking of the words.

"Vincent," George came to the summoner mage's rescue. "Why don't you show the fine Captain a bit of the city? It should be safe now since most of the residents are asleep."

"Eh?" Vinnie pursed his lips in thought. "Well, if George of all people says it's okay…then okay!" the young mage grinned brightly, but then his expression made a turn to annoyance. "But wait to have the meeting! I wanna hear, too!"

George chuckled, a gentle look in his eyes. "I can't promise anything," then the soft expression turned stern when the mage looked to Kidd. George didn't need to say anything.

Kidd understood; this was for Gabriella after all; he could see that she didn't want her younger brother to be present when they talked about Copy Cat. He would play along with the plan, but that didn't mean he liked it, and that was for one reason and one reason alone.

Kidd stood up, but before making his way to the door, he faced Mason a dark shadow of his icy. "Touch her and I'll rip your fucking head clean off with my fucking bare hands and then shove it up your ass," and then he left with the threat lingering in his wake**.**

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><p>Vinnie showed the city of Pompeii to Kidd, the narrow streets vacant of most people safe for a few. Vinnie explained that most citizen were asleep a long time again and usually only a few servants would be awake at this hour, probably to run errands for their noble masters. There was a small chance that someone would notice them, and even if they did, then George would have his back.<p>

Kidd was curious about the comment, but before he could even ask, Vinnie was moving along to something.

"Hey…" Vinnie spoke up sheepishly as he kicked a loose pebble down the street. "Can I ask ya a question?"

Kidd arched a brow, curious of where this was going to go. "Sure…"

"You're goin' out with my big sis, right?" Vinnie asked slowly.

"Yeah…?" Kidd answered, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows in confusion. "What of it?"

"So…" Vinnie scratched the side of this tan cheek, the skin tone glowing a tiny shade of pink. "You're good with girls, right? My sis's is a'hella picky when it comes to guys. …I should know," Vinnie added off handedly. "I read her diary."

"…Uh, well," Kidd felt heat rise to his cheeks and he started to get a little sweaty under all the fur of his coat. "I guess…so?"

He was, maybe, maybe not. He had something with Gabriella they understood each other well enough, right? So maybe he knew a little bit…

"Great!" Vinnie shouted, his eyed wide with determination and bright grin on his lips; he didn't even notice Kidd's hesitation at all. "Ya see…" the young mage then suddenly turned away in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head. "There's a girl I really like in my class…but…"

Oh fuck; this was Killer's job, not Kidd's. Kidd drew a blank when it came to other people's relationship issues, hell, he needed help when he couldn't handle his own. Oh god, what did he get himself into.

"I don't know what to do!" Vinnie shouted again, and a flustered look took over his expression as steam poured from his ears. "Should I just tell her or should I write her a note!? What did you do?" he suddenly turned to Kidd again. "How'd you tell sis you liked her, huh?!"

"…It's a…" Kidd scratched the back of his head as his cheeks turned scarlet red. "Uh, long story…"

"C'mon!" Vinnie clung to Kidd's metal arm and looked up at the captain with a puppy dog stare. "Please tell me!" he pleaded.

"…Well," well, he should just be honest and simply say: "She confessed first."

"Eh!?" Vinnie gasped in shock and even jumped back. "Really? Then…" he then tapped his chin in thought. "Should I wait for Tina to confess first, or maybe until I get the courage, right?"

Kidd merely nodded; personally, he didn't really know if that was good or not, but at least it sounded logical.

"Okay!" There was determination in Vinnie's gold eyes. "Thanks!"

Kidd just chuckled at the reaction; what a simple kid.

"Young Master Vinnie! Captain Eustass!" Hans shouted from behind them, the demon butler rushing towards them ad top speeds. "Please! It's an _emergency~!_ Young Mistress Gabriella as collapsed by unknown means!"


	112. Chapter 109: KO

Girl-luvs-manga: Err...not really. Hans isn't kill any little boys.

Kiteria: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, and also, you are the 700th reviewer so you get a mini. :)

Velonica14: Thank you very much for the edits. :)

Alpenwolf: Your questions will be answered here.

Connie-Ts: Hey, Vinnie needs a man (besides his father) to look up to...so why not Kidd?

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Hehe...he...he...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Thank you for the edits. Now wait until Kidd meets Gabs's father...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

**P.S. Sorry for mistakes and...this chapter may seem off...T.T I'm stressed so I tried my best.**

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><p>Chapter 109: K.O.<p>

"Master…" Musket spoke up uneasily from where he clung to the back of her robe, his little claws digging into the thick black fabric. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

Gabriella looked over her shoulder, sending her familiar a weak smile; Musket was only troubled just as she was over the sudden news of Copy Cat. "Its fine, baby," she put up a strong front to reassure him. "Things may look down but I'll fix it soon. Don't worry that pretty little head of yours," and then she pat his head in comfort.

Musket's expression never changed; he knew as well as her that things were taking a turn for the worse. George was right; she was handling this better than anyone thought. Though, she only _looked_ that way. Deep inside she was screaming her eyes out with salty tears, blaming herself for not seeing this beforehand. She felt she had to know Copy Cat's every move or else everyone would be doomed. It was only a front; she was a master of putting up a mask when she needed to. But like George said, this is a devil's game, were are all pawns of Copy Cat, but also Mortalitas.

Gabriella had to trust the dark god; he would not fail her. Plus, she wasn't alone. Instead of just Calamity and the Four Pillars, there was also Kidd, Ameria, their newly formed alliance, the King's Alliance. Hell, there was even mages from the Council there to help because they knew the truth as well. There was an army ready to fight Copy Cat, but...Copy Cat now had one, too...

That may have closed one stress valve, but it also opened another.

She shook her head of the thought; _don't think of that_, she chanted within her mind, _don't think of that_.

Think of Kidd. Think of Vinnie. Think of them, of those two, and only those two; she was looking for them, after all.

The woods were dark, the leaves casting a black film over the underbrush and grass as they rustled in the wind. The moon's bright glow filtered through the cracks, the only source of light to guide her way. But she knew this forest like the back of her hand; she could run through the trees blind and still make it to the city, which made the search for a little bit easier. Yet, finding them would still be difficult, not matter how well she could navigate; she was out of practice with traveling through the woods at dark whereas Vinnie was well rehearsed.

"Do you think we'll find them soon?" Musket asked timidly as he nuzzled his nose into the thick fabric of her cloak. "I don't like being outside in the dark like this."

"I'm sure we'll find them soon," she answered her familiar with a kind smile, feeling the heaviness on the corner of her lips. "They can't be far; and Kidd isn't one for stealth."

"He does stomp a lot…" Musket mumbled, his voice almost expressing annoyance. "He wakes me up from my naps a lot."

Gabriella let out a tiny laugh; that brightened the mood. It might have been a small smidge, but it was enough to put a true smile on her lips rather than a forced one.

"And Master," Musket spoke up again. "Is that why you're wearing your old cloak again? To be stealthy?"

Gabriella bit her lip and resisted the urge to stop walking, and instead picked up her pace, the familiar chime of the chains hanging from her back, shoulders and hips mixing with the sound of the leaves fluttering in the wind. Stealth, huh? She never thought of it like that, but maybe she was doing it subconsciously, like how she wasn't using her magic in the dead of a pitch black night. Maybe the old habit was harder to break now that she was home, and she hid herself away the best she could. Though, she would admit there was that old nag in the back of her mind. It wasn't the Council though, no, it wasn't them. Thanks to Kidd, she learned to screw what those old geezers thought of her; technically they weren't allowed to directly kill her for political reasons. They tried loopholes, of course, but nothing really stuck. Though, that didn't stop other nobles from trying to use little…tricks up their sleeves.

_Assassins._

Bound by contract, the name of the noble was forever remained a secret and the identity of the killer—if they were good—was never known either.

But, in Gabriella's personal experience with assassins, none of them were good enough since she was still alive, and most of them were dead now, thanks to Mason. The only assassins that could probably take her out is the infamous Manolia Burgrate. But the rumor was no one could pay the right price since killing her was a political issue…

She then shook her head of the thought; assassins, killing and death was a bad omen and it was best not to think about it.

Instead, she focused only on Kidd and Vinnie. Since the discussion with Mason and George about that devil was done and over with, she decided to hunt them down by herself. A walk in the peaceful, fresh air would help clear her mind about Copy Cat. The case was far from being closed and there were many questions still left unanswered, one being why the hell did Copy Cat posse a Marine of all people.

Sure, it would help him hunt grandmasters if he were in the Mage Recruiting Division, but he wouldn't get away with killing them when the division wanted them in one piece. He was after grandmasters masks, and he killed them afterwards, so what good would a _Marine_ do? For a different type of power maybe; like an army? That was the only obvious explanation because it wasn't for more magical power. It could only mean that Copy Cat wanted to worm his way into power of the Marines to get into the higher rank for…

For _what?_

That's when the explanation ended along with logic. How would the Marines logically help Copy Cat in his conquest for _what_, exactly? More masks? That was the basic reason people gave the X-ranked devil, but now things didn't add up. Everyone thought he wanted power over grandmasters and the masks were his trophies from the fallen prey, but now the three summoner mage's were questioning the method.

They ultimately came to the conclusion that Copy Cat may not be collecting masks of grandmasters as trophies bur rather something else.

The three had a strong hunch that Calamity must know what it was the devil wanted, but she was withholding the information. That left them with another _why_ question. Was it because of secrecy? That the three couldn't handle the truth? Or maybe Mortalitas demanded that it be hidden. They knew their teacher would never lie to them like this; there was a reason behind it all.

It had given her a headache, which made George and Mason tell her that she needed a small break. They said they would handle the information gathering while she took the time to relax. Out of all of them, she needed the vacation the most.

The idea of a vacation seemed almost impossible to grasp, how could she possibly—

_Snap._

Inhaling sharply, she stopped in her tracks with wide eyes at the tiny crack of a twig in the background, and Musket yelped in fright, the winged goblin dashing into her cloak for protection. There was an eerie silence, hidden eyes on her back in the darkness; she wasn't alone. Then the silence broke, a rustle in the bushes made her whip around, her guard shooting up like the iron doors of a fortress and she whipped around, hand on the hilt of her blade.

A woman in black leather stepped out from the shadows, though it seemed she still stood among them. The only thing that indicated her presence was the exposed skin of her legs and arms. Half her face was covered by a black bandana and her eyes void of any feeling as she held the duel short blades in each gloved hand.

Her expression was stone cold, not a shred of emotion in her dark eyes; the main criteria for any good assassin. "Hmph, you've gotten stronger…" she stated with an icy tone as her feet spread out into a defensive position.

Gabriella didn't know this person, yet the woman seemed to know personally. Maybe she did know the woman, but she sure as hell did recognize the voice, nor did she care to try and recall. Assassin's knew their targets well, in the end; this, Gabriella was used to.

"He said it was like stepping into a sauna of power when one tracked you," the woman said in a poetic tone as she twirled one of the blades in her hand. "Though I feel as if it is like I'm walking into the burning rays of the sun."

_He?_ Would was _he _that she spoke of? Someone from and assassin's guild for sure, yet which one was it? The darkness impaired her vision of the guild seal and the woman was obviously not in her memory. Maybe it was from a less rememberable guild and that's why. Though, this wasn't a time to get cocky and underestimate the enemy.

As Gabriella's fingers twitched against the hilt of her blade, she saw that the woman's blank stare was only a mask. An assassin has no emotion, all the way to their core, but Gabriella could see she was boiling hatred.

This was an advantage for her, but still she couldn't get cocky.

There was a stand still between the two, either of them making the first move. Gabriella figured the same thing was going through each other's mind; who'd make the first move. Though there was a side inside Gabriella was screaming to escape; that violent side that came from Kidd. Or maybe a way to relief her pent up stress. Either way, she was still itching for a battle, a fight she could win. Whether it was a good idea or not, Gabriella didn't know, but she charged.

She pulled a Kidd; _action now, think later._

The summoner mage whipped out her blade, the metal a blur in motion as she rushed the assassin full clash of iron parlayed her attack, the twin short swords of the assassin crossing to defend their master from woman held their ground, metal grinding together to cause sparks to fly, but the summoner mage did not lighten up on the assault.

She took a tiny step back, but only to whirl around and tried to flake the assassin from the side, aim for the other woman's shoulder. The swift movement wasn't fast enough for the assassin, and she avoided the blade's sharp edge. The routine continued on; hit and run, hit and run. No matter how much the other assassin dodged her attacks, Gabriella continued until the tension was too great and they had to split apart.

With one large leap back, there was distance between the two women, but Gabriella wasted no time in conducting another form of frontal assault. Her skin felt the warmth of her magic at her fingertips, and the portals open, multiple vortexes to confuse the assassin. The enemy looked around at each shimmering gateway to the hells, the growling and roaring of the unknown demon coming from one portal and then the next.

Then there was a moment of complete silence, an eerie atmosphere settling into the dust, and with a smirk, the summoner mage chuckled darkly, a red gloss over her golden irises. "_Now!_" Gabriella commanded, open hand stretched out before her and from the shadows came her demon; her Callon.

The pale skinned demon curled tightly in a large ball rolled at high speeds towards the assassin, ready to bulldoze the bitch into oblivion.A mixture of fear and shock flashed in the assassin's eyes when she saw the demon, but by the hair on her chin, the woman dodged the massive only thing the Callon hit was the trees the easily gave way under the pressure; bark cracked and wood split, the sound piercing through the forest as the Callon disappeared from sight.

The woman growled darkly; this put a roadblock in her plan and Gabriella was damn proud of it. The summoner age could see the assassin's eyes shifting to and fro, trying to think of something new. And the assassin apparently followed her instincts and first tried to take out the source of her demonic problem: Gabriella, but it failed miserably.

A Callon was a bulky demon and slow on its feet, but when it was rolled up into a ball, nothing could get past it so easily. The assassin could not get within arm's reach of the summoner mage without the Callon intercepting her every time. Frustration was vivid her in dark eyes, knowing she could never win if she kept up with the same old trick.

Killing her former plan, she moved onto another just as quickly and pulled out a necklace made of wooden beads from her sleeve and screamed: "_I banish thee!_"

Gabriella bit her lip; exorcism beads. She should have seen that one coming; what good assassin wouldn't go into battle against a summoner—or necromancer—mage without those. She had gotten too used to the outside world; they could never have exorcism beads there. So, she was forced to watch her Callon tremble in fear, the might demon revert to a weak, puppy-like state as he wobble backwards on all fours back into a portal created by the beads powers. There was no time for folly; she had more devils in her arson and she wouldn't be undone that easily.

She clenched her hand, gold engulfed her fist and she snapped her gaze towards the assassin, and her eyes opened wide in shock. The assassin was gone from sight, but then she was found just as quickly.

The woman grabbed Gabriella by the back, an iron grip on the chain and with all her might, the assassin threw the summoner mage across the way.

Gabriella gasped in pain, choking on her own air as she slipped to the ground harshly on her side; that was going to leave a mark in the morning.

"_Master!_" Musket screeched in horror and slipped out from the magic fold of her cloak and then grabbed a hold of the chain, pulling with all his strength as he hovered above her. "_Get up, get up! It's not time to nap!_"

Gabriella didn't have the strength to move; it hurt, badly. She was regretting her decision of wearing her old cloak now. It had been ages since someone yanked her using that method, and she vividly remembered she didn't like it.

"_Why don't you summon something else, witch!_" the assassin hissed through her teeth like a venomous snake, a wicked sneer illuminating in her dark eyes. "_You're can't laid a hit on me with your blade, so try magic again! I dare you!_" and she shook her fist with beads clutched in her fingers, a warning threat to the summoner mage. "_You're nothing without your magic! That's how all you mages are!_"

Was Gabriella nothing without her magic? It was actually a good question, but not the time to answer that now. She didn't know, but then again, she didn't care. Her magic was a gift to be used and there was nothing wrong with that. She wouldn't allow the woman's word to get to her. No, not now.

A cocky gleam glimmered in the assassin's dark eyes as she tried to land a final blow, her thoughts visible to the naked eye: _I killed Caden's Heir_**.**

Gabriella growled; she may not be able to summon, but that didn't mean all her magic was void. The summoner mage pounded her golden glowing fist to the ground and a single rift opened to her whim and she fell through, the portal closing before the woman could conclude her attack.

Everything was a blurry of red after that, something full of rage took over her body Gabriella and she became violent, bloody violent. She wondered if this is how Kidd felt because when her vision was clear, she stood out on top by dealing the final blow.

The blade slashed through the thick leather and struck pale flesh, a sea of crimson coming from the woman's split chest. Her dark eyes were wide with agony and pain, but then they suddenly closed. All her weight tumbled back on her heels and she went to the ground.

Breathing heavily in and out, her shoulders rose and fell drastically as she looked down at the woman lying in the grass, her blood mixing with dew on each tiny green blade. Was she dead? No; there was still fresh sweat on her twitching brow and her curled fingers trembled in agony from the pain of the major wound.

Kidd was a very bad influence on her. She was grinning like a chestier cat, a wicked smirk on her lips, but she still had a shred of self-control and she refrained from laughing like a maniac. Not everything from Kidd rubbed off on her, but she was pleased that she got her fix.

Maybe now she didn't need to waste a date on raiding and killing an entire Marine base. Kidd wouldn't like that, but hey, it would happen in the future one day. Just not as a second date.

She could picture the look on his face vividly—considering how he looked when she told him of the second date idea—and the thought made her chuckle.

"_Heh._"

The voice, unknown yet familiar, made her stop in her tracks, turning to stone not of her freewill. An enchantment, a spell cast upon her.

"_You've done well._"

Her moment of pride, excitement and more after a good fight made her lower her guard; a big mistake on her part, and she closed her eyes in anger, cursing darkly under her breath. How stupid of her to lose track of something so simple.

"_But now well enough._"

There was a sharp pain in her side, the sting of a thin but long needle piercing the thick fabric of her jeans and invade the inner workings of her skin. There was a sudden burn on her flesh, traveling like wildfire that made her vision suddenly blurry.

And then all she saw was black; total darkness.


	113. Chapter 110: Discovery

Alpenwolf: Gabs really is never lucky, actually...

Guest(Shiningheart of ThunderClan?): Maybe one day she will do that...maybe one day.

Kiteria: Lol, xD!

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Well...you might have to wait awhile for that...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 110: Discovery<p>

The vessel felt like a ghost ship.

Without the captain present, the crew didn't know what to do with themselves. They did their chores for the ships upkeep, tasks to prepare for the unexpected and then...and then nothing. Usually when the authority figure was missing in action, the underlings would take advantage of the situation. One word: party.

Maybe back in the South Blue, or even in Paradise of the Grand Line, but the New World wasn't just a name. It was a whole new world, and one didn't play around in the truly unknown and dangerous. Especially considering they were getting to the end.

So, after the work was done, they waited. They didn't brawl amongst themselves, even just for fun; they were cautious of injuries. They didn't need stupid ones at a time like this. They kept to themselves or in small groups, and they sealed their anger fuses with titanium so nothing accidentally happened. Doc was pleased with the decision because it meant more naps, and he could try to stop smoking, but they all knew that would never happen.

Doc would kick up his heels and cross his ankles on the surface of his desk, then tilting back, he caught a couple of Z's before the storm of gingers returned. The quiet atmosphere made the infirmary a good place to read, which was where Benjamin the baby bear spend most of his time. And of course out of boredom, Daniel and the two pups joined him as well.

Daniel shuddered, the chill so intense that he rubbed his arms as he saw visible puffs of breath slipping past his trembling lips.

"Are you feeling ill, Daniel?" Benjamin asked with concern, briefly looking away from his book so he could inspect the young cabin boy.

"Nah," Daniel sniffled and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. "I just had a bad feeling or somethin' like that. Hope it's nothing bad …"

"You are probably just a tad-bit paranoid about Gabriella not being with us at the moment," Benjamin pointed out simply."You have been, as they say, 'down in the dumps' ever since she left."

"Well what'd ya expect?" Daniel sighed as he slid down the edge of the wall to sit on the floor, Hamish and Ezio moving to sit by his sides. "Gabriella means a lot to me and I wanna protect her like she protects me."

Benjamin nodded understandingly. "She really is like a mother to you."

Daniel was silent for a moment, and pondered the thoughts. "Yeah ... I guess she kinda became my Mum since I don't got one anymore."

"You miss her?" Benjamin asked.

"Yeah," Daniel nodded sadly."I miss her a lot," and the pups at his side howled in agreement.

"Well," Benjamin sighed. "I do not know what to tell you since I feel exactly the same way."

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><p>No one liked the eerie silence among the halls, yet it remained. Though, there were a few that went outside the box and spoke up a bit to lighten the mood, but it didn't stick long. None would admit it, but they were worried. They cast it off as boredom as they awaited the return of their captain and his summoner mage, but honestly, they were all worried about what would happen. What could happen to Kidd and Gabriella in a somewhat hostile land, but also what could happen to them captain-less. Subconsciously, they were lying low and had the cover up that they were merely preparing themselves physically for the upcoming battles.<p>

The only ones they were fooling were themselves, but that seemed just peachy for them. Yet, there were still other things they needed to worry about. Like Chamberlain, Heat, and Killer; the navigator, first and second mates. They were the most important people next to the captain, which meant they couldn't act like the lost little puppies like the crew.

They had preparations to make for the moment Kidd returned, but the process was going a bit slower than any of them wanted.

One word: Madeline.

It was so bad that Heat had to exit the room, mumbling something about booze. Killer would have been the first to leave, obviously, but he was first mate and needed to remain present at all costs. Even if it meant he had to try and withstand a fiend like the thin summoner mage.

He wasn't pleased in the slightest.

Madeline shuddered, hugging her arms as the chill ran down her spine. There was obliviously something wrong, yet neither of the two men present said anything to her whatsoever. Huffing, she planted right fists on her hips and glowered at first mate. "Well?" she waited impatiently, tapping her foot repeatedly to the floor.

She was ignored as Killer and Chamberlain continued to speak stiffly about the next course of action without Kidd being present.

"Hey!" Madeline shouted angrily and then gently shoved Killer in the shoulder. "Pay attention when I talk to you!"

And the action and tone made him retaliate with a punch to her nose. He dared not say a word to the thin summoner mage, but he did grumble a few choice curse words under his breath before looking back to the navigator. "So, what's the plan?"

"Jeremy said he'd look into the books to see if there any good island worth going to without Kidd," Chamberlain told the first mate calmly. "You know he'll have a hissy fit like a four-year-old if he misses out on something good."

"Grand." Killer scoffed, sarcasm dripping from words like thick honey. "He's already off having an adventure of a lifetime with his girlfriend and we gotta sit back waiting like good little pups."

Chamberlain sighed, shaking his head lightly. "I'm sure he's not having a peachy time at all."

"And~!" Madeline sprung from her spot on the floor and wrapped her arms around the first mate's. "You have me here, Killer Baby!"

Killer was stiffer than stone and faster than a speedy bullet, his knee rammed into the thin summoner mage's gut, and she keeled over, holding her gut in a fit of groans.

"Anyway," Killer regained his calm composure as he turned his attention back to the navigator. "What do you think'll happen next."

"Don't know," Chamberlain sighed as he plopped down in a seat at the table, his hand instinctually resting atop of Kilrain's head, the large dog still at his side. "We'll just have to wait for Jeremy to come back."

Killer sighed dully and collapsed in his seat; more waiting. That was fantastic. He sighed again and then picked up the morning paper. Hopefully he would find some useful information, or maybe something interesting at least. Skimming and flipping, he saw nothing of importance. But on page eight, a larger than normal article sucked him in. "Chamberlain!" Killer snapped and he slapped the navigator in the arm to gain his attention. "Look at this!" and then the first mate shoved the newspaper in front of his face.

Chamberlain grumbled as he took the bundle of papers and smoothed them out evenly on the table's surface so he properly read the article. He skimmed at first, but then his brows furrowed as he read more in-depth, and then the navigator's eyes opened wide in shock. "Trafalgar has a _brother?_ In the _Marines?_"

"That's not the biggest thing." Killer shook his head and slapped his hand down on the papers before the navigator."Look at it again."

"I did." Chamberlain mumbled as he pinched one of the first mate's fingers and peeled Killer's hand away from the printed words, then looking down at the paper again, he continued with a grimace. "He apparently sold out Law at Dressrosa; talk about stabbing someone in the back."

Killer nodded grimly, a wary aura swimming around his person. "Think Trafalgar told his brother anything he shouldn't have?" Killer asked coldly, his tone dark and icy."Like where the hideout is, or any trade secrets.

Chamberlain pursed his lips into a thin line, his eyes trained on the paper. "I don't know," the navigator murmured deep in thought, and he placed his hand to his chin."Knowing Trafalgar's personality, his older brother could be just as bad. He could have sold out his brother to the Marines, just like Law in a way sold out Ameria to the Marines by becoming a Warlord."

Killer suddenly slammed his hands to the table and rose from his seat quickly, an annoyed tick making his fingers twitch. He shoved away from the table and then began to pace back and forth until a trench was left in his boots wake. "This isn't good," he whispered."How much do the Marines know about us now..."

"It's not like Kidd will care too much." Chamberlain replied, trying to reassure the first mate. "The worst thing that could happen is they find the hideout. Hideouts can be replaced."

"But not men." Killer snapped. "The Marines may know a shit load about us, but not the guys in the Fleet! That's the reason why we got all our territory and it stays that way. The Marines know shit. But now they could."

"Killer." Chamberlain put up his hands to ease the rising tension. "Calm down."

"Yeah, Killer Baby!" Madeline chirped happily as she sprung from the floor, a cheeky grin on his lips. "There's nothin' to worry 'bout," and she waved her hand nonchalantly to cast the subject to the side.

Killer didn't agree with the thin summoner mage whatsoever. A growl told her that much. "You wanna get the shit knocked out of you again," he threatened in a dangerously calm tone.

"No," Madeline then shrunk down suddenly, her nose resting upon the table's edge as she hid from the violent first mate. "But seriously," she rose, pointing finger in the air. "Justice doesn't seem like the type to rat his brother out."

Chamberlain's brow quirked, curious of the comment. Why did Madeline know the name of the older Trafalgar when no one said it? Unless she read it already, which was highly unlikely. "Why do you say that?" the navigator asked slowly.

"Because he helped me and Gabs before. It was when we got kidnapped by that crazy Vice Admiral in the past." Madeline answered bluntly. "He said something about how he tried to do it before and it didn't work and he didn't want the same thing to happen again, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture."

Chamberlain pressed his lips and then blinked his eyes. "…So that's how you two escaped," was his response. "It was something I was curious about at the time…"

"Not important!" Killer barked, irritation sharp on his tongue. "Who cares about the past? We need to focus on the goddamn future! Meaning, this newly appointed Vice Admiral could screw us all over!"

Chamberlain was silent for a mere moment, waiting briefly for the first mate to simmer down before speaking his reply. "I think we should be optimistic about the situation."

Killer flinched when he heard the word, and he coldly warned: "Don't you fuckin' say it Chamberlain or I'll beat you to a pulp."

Chamberlain was unaffected by the threat and he took its seriousness like a grain of salt. "I think we should listen to Madeline."

Killer was inches away from ramming the navigator square in the face with his fist, but Chamberlain was ultimately saved and the doom was placed upon another.

"Yay!" Madeline cheered, jumping for joy. "Killer Baby's listenin' to little ole' me!"

And the repercussion for her actions was getting a knuckle imprint on her cheek and being thrown to the wall by intense force.

"Can it bitch," Killer scoffed as he shook his hand to removed unwanted foreign blood from his skin. "There's no way I'm listening to your aspects on this Marine Trafalgar doppelganger. Pessimistic or not; think of the worst scenario so you're ready for anything."

"W—well—" Madeline coughed, blood trickling down from the corner of her lip and then down her chin. "If you won't listen to me…then maybe Gabs? She'll say the same thing as me, and you trust her, right?"

Killer was silent, actually taking a moment to soak in the information. "Hmph," he then huffed, turning his head to the side sharply. "Since Kidd trusts her of course I do too," was all he said.

"Then…" Chamberlain clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "This is settled now? This isn't a problem."

"No," Killer grunted, arms crossed over his chest.

"And does this mean you'll stop hitting me, right?" Madeline asked the first mate with an eager grin as she shuffled over to the table and then plopped down in a seat, cringing lightly from her wounds.

"No," Killer repeated and leaned against the wall, remaining utterly silent.

Madeline sighed deeply in disappointment and hung her head gloomily.

Chamberlain looked between the two, but then his eyes lingered on the thin summoner mage. "Uh, Madeline. Shouldn't you go see Doc?"

Madeline's head shot up and she smiled cheekily towards the navigator, waving her hand to cast the thought carelessly to the side. "Nah, I'm good," she replied and then shrugged. "You know this happens a lot and I've gotten used to it by now."

Chamberlain felt a bead of sweat slip down the side of his cheek when he saw the reaction of the thin summoner mage after being physically assaulted more than once within the past twenty minutes. She merely smiled cheerfully and grabbed the newspaper to read the articles. What a strange girl…

Though, Chamberlain was surprised that she didn't say anything about how Killer would soon come around one day—like she always did—which would never happen. But maybe it was for the best if she kept her mouth shut about that … at least for a few minutes.

"Hmm?" Madeline then suddenly hummed in mild shock as she looked up from the newspaper. "Did you see this one?" and she pointed to a smaller article on the same page as the one about the new Vice Admiral.

Chamberlain cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Which one?"

"The one about Conrad Ronal," Madeline elaborated. "It's a small interview about how this guy went from zero to hero in only a few weeks. He's on the track to getting a Vice Admiral position in the basic divisions, but he'd risk it all just for a spot on the Special Forces."

Chamberlain's brows furrowed, and slowly, he asked: "What's that have to do with anything?"

"…I don't know," Madeline admitted quietly. "But I have a bad feeling when I look at this guy's picture… It's chilling," and the thin summoner mage shuddered to emphasize her point.

Chamberlain didn't know what to say about that, nor did he get anytime to question the summoner mage whatsoever since the young historian of the crew burst into the room.

Jeremy was out of breath as he staggered into the room, waving a bundle of parchment above his head wildly. "I—I—" he stuttered from lack of oxygen in his lungs and he took a moment to inhale and exhale sharply before continuing. "I have finished my research and according to charts and calculations …_Raftel__ is only a few days away!_"

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><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


	114. Chapter 111: Ohdan

Certified Chocoholic: Eh...Maddie really isn't...ah, you'll see.

Girl-luvs-manga: He should be.

Kiteria: It's a force of habit now. :D Killer can't stop the beat!

Alpenwolf: Lol, he'll make them into mummies doin' that xD!

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Jeremy knows because of notes the professors and his father took back at Athena. They are in his big book of everything. :) It'll be explained soon.

Velonica14: No one can hate Justice, because everyone loves Justice. *sniff-sniff* He's come a long way from being a minor bad guy and all.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Conrad Ronal has already been mentioned, and he was talked about...you gotta look. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 111: Ohdan!<p>

_Bat-shit mad._

_Bloody angry._

_Wrathful fury._

_Fucking rage._

These were some of the colorful adjectives that could barely make an attempt to describe how Kidd felt at that very moment.

His cheeks riddled with scratches caused from branches in the wood, thin streams of red trickling down his skin. His lungs were overworked, pound against his ribcage; his chest heavy from sprinting, an action he didn't do on a daily basis. Kidd noticed that sprinting and his summoner mage went hand in hand. And his summoner mage went hand in hand with trouble. He hated when she was in trouble; it was despicable.

Unknown reasons? _Bullshit_; Gabriella didn't just faint from an unknown reason. There was something, there was always _something_. The trouble Gabriella got mixed into was something malicious, something caused from an evil attempt from a wicked person. Kidd knew this, his gut told him it was true; hell he saw it firsthand multiple times. Whenever his lover wasn't at his side, the malevolent beasts of the world tried to inflict harm upon her.

This happened every fucking time, and he detested it; loathed it with a burning passion that it could rot in hell for all eternity.

He stormed the Roland Villa like an army of furious demons rather than a bloodthirsty boyfriend. The soles of his boots clomped against the tiled flooring, the echo like gunshots ricocheting off the walls. He probably looked like a monster, Vinnie's silence as he chased after his heels along the way was a small hint. Kidd would have thought the young teen would be livelier with panic, but the boy was hesitant and slightly nervous as he followed when he saw the fury radiating from the redhead. The tiny ginger hung close to his side, yet there was still distance between him and Kidd who stalked through the halls.

Like a bloodhound on the hunt, Kidd scanned everything to find where she was, but the house was so damn big and Vinnie was as nervous as hell due to the mood.

But, the abundance of golden light as he turned the corner snared the redhead's crimson blurred vision and he honed in on the orbs created by George stranding quietly in a lounge. There were so many doors that she could be behind, do many different paths that lead to her.

Damn, he didn't want to waste any more time.

And as a result, all his bent up anger was directed towards the scholarly summoner mage. "_Where is she?_" Kidd growled, his tone cold icy and bitter ling the artic winds and a dark shadow cast over the flame in his eyes.

There was a blank glaze in the scholarly summoner mage's dark eyes, he glanced towards the fuming redhead, completely unaffected by the burst of rage targeted at him. "She's in treatment," was all he said, arms folded across his chest.

The vague answer caused multiple veins to pop along his brow like firecrackers at night during a holiday. Taking long strides, Kidd grabbed a fist full of George's robe and hoisted the shorter man clear off the ground. "_**Where the fuck is she!**_" He bellowed, his tone razor sharp and deadly to the touch and jabbed a finger to one of the many doors in the area.

George didn't so much flinch at the violent act; if anything he relaxed in the angry redhead's grip. "Calm yourself, Captain Eustass. Lulu is working on removing the poison. It's best not to disturb the process."

"_**Poison!**_" Kidd spat, shaking his fist so the scholarly mage's followed suit. "_**Motherfucker! Tell me where my damn girlfriend fucking is right now or I'll send you to hell in a way where you'll never come back!**_"

The threats continued to fly passed his lips, the curses so quick that it felt like he was speaking a mushy, deadly, foreign language that George's smartass mind couldn't comprehend. Still, the redhead's words never pierced the stoic shell around the scholarly summoner mage, but Vinnie was another story. The teen summoner mage was in a fit of panic and dashed forward to try and ease the pirate captain. He clung to the fur of Kidd's coat and pulled, yet he didn't speak a word, which made the attempt a failure.

Kidd continued to threaten George with words until his tongue could no longer take the heat and his throat was hoarse from screaming, so the cold iron of his metal fist decided to take over.

But, a strong grip latched onto the back of his coat, jerking the fur and his shirt underneath. The action startled him slightly, the moment of hesitation making him drop George and then whip around to come face to face with Mason.

_Not_ what he needed right now.

Mason stood like stone, feet rooted into place as he still held onto the collar of the fur coat. A dark scowl sketched into his features then he turned his attention to George, but still kept Kidd at bay. "I couldn't find the fucker."

George sighed as he smoothed his robes of wrinkles. "This isn't good," he stated the blatantly obvious as he pushed the bridge of his glasses back up to sit proper upon his nose. "Were you able to find anything at all though?"

"Oh," Mason smirked coldly, but his eyes held fury and the emotion flooding through his fingers and rushed to his fingertips as he pushed Kidd away. "I found something, alright," he snapped, ignoring the murderous look of the redhead entirely. "This is solid fucking proof it was_him._"

George's usually calm expression turned to shock, his eyes wide and there was even a bead of sweat on his brow. "_Him …?_" He mumbled in deep thought, his brows knotting together tightly. "Are you sure it was _him?_"

Mason nodded grimly. "I know that seal; I'd never forget it."

Kidd's brow twitched from the fact that he was out of the loop he should be in due since this was his girlfriend's assailant and all. "_Who was it?_" His tone was commanding; he demanded to know the answer so he knew who to blame, and who to place his fury upon.

"_Rayus,_" Mason ground his teeth as he said the name; there was hatred between the two. It was something that looked deeper than what was between the muscular summoner mage and the pirate captain. But, Kidd could tell that there was similar foundation. "He was the one that got away. He was the only one that got away and now this is the second damn time! _That rat-bastard!_ I'll kill him with my bare hands if I have to!"

"Get in line," Kidd cut in with a sneer.

"I get first dibs, you son of a bitch," Mason brutally snapped.

Kidd growled viciously at the muscular summoner mage and took a menacing step forward. "What'd you say, fucker?" Kidd interrogated his rival coldly, a sour taste forming on his tongue from bitter feelings.

Mason wasn't threatened by the dark aura and dared to take a step forward. "You heard me, n' ya know it."

The tension was thick, muscles clenched and teeth grinding together. It was the calm before the storm. A brawl was brewing and it would be a hurricane. But, a quarrel among themselves was not needed at a time like this, and George seemed to be the only one that saw that.

"_Stop!_" He shouted, raising his voice to break the thick glass of strain and the rough tone actually made the two meatheads halt and stare at the scholarly summoner mage in shock; it was rare for George's character, even Kidd who barely knew the guy saw that. "This isn't the time to fight amongst ourselves," he told them sternly, his voice once again calm. "Plus, you're scaring Vincent," and George placed a hand atop of Vinnie's head, the teen summoner mage hiding behind his back.

Upon the sight, the two instantly calmed down, taking strides back to distance themselves from one another, but there was no apology from either of them.

"Anyway," George cleared his throat and then turned to his comrade in arms. "Mason, are you positive that the attack had to do with Rayus? It'll be very difficult to counter if it was."

Mason grimaced, his brows knitted with rage. "Told you I'd never forget that seal. It wasn't him personally, but one of his dead lackys. I had gone to the crime scene and saw tons of blood, but the body was moved. I used a hellhound to track it down and we're lucky that that it's the dry season or else the body would be in the ocean by now. Gabriella must have killed her from the looks of the wound on her chest, but through the blood I saw Rayus's guild seal."

"He got cocky," George huffed, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. "He depended too much on the water and the fact that it was night. He must have forgotten about your obsession, Mason."

Mason scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest in offense.

Kidd didn't want to bring _this_ up again; the outcome was predicable considering he and Mason go at it like boxers in the ring every time they come in contact, and especially when the summoner mage was brought up. It was time to get back on track. "Knock it off," Kidd snapped at the two. "We have a name, so let's go! We're wasting fuckin' time!"

"It's not that easy," George was blunt, denying the redhead's demands. "He is under noble protection."

"Yeah, so?" Kidd mocked stubbornly and rolled his eyes. "Does it look like I give a fuck?"

"You should," George countered coldly. "If you care for Gabriella's safety."

"That ain't a question!" Kidd barked, trembling with rage. "Of course I do! But he's tried to kill her, not once, but fucking _twice!_ I can't let any fucker get away with pulling that stunt again! I can't let him live; not another single breath!"

"For once, I agree with you on that," Mason grumbled. "But George is still right. Rayus is under noble protection because he is important. He's … the grandkid of a former Councilmember. That's like a Celestial Dragon."

Kidd bit his lip; this was not good at all. No, not one bit. Why did it all of a sudden become so hard to kill people he really wanted to murder? Maybe it was just because he made one too many enemies in high places that his hand of death couldn't reach. It was bullshit in his eyes. Nonetheless, it couldn't be dealt with. Not now, at least. In good time, everything would come his way because karma is a bitch, right?

Yeah, he'd get his chance. He might hate waiting, but sometimes being a little patient paid off every once in a while. Revenge could be a little sweeter that way.

_Creak~_

The sound of the door creeping open slowly snapped Kidd from his inner thoughts and he whipped his attention to one of the doors lacing the walls. It was small and hidden in the shadow of an old statue, and from the veil of darkness, a tall man emerged.

Kidd remembered him from the portrait when he first arrived at the villa, Roland Jacoby, Gabriella's father. The man resembled his youth, though now the young features were withered with wrinkles around his eyes and corner of his lips. The brown tousles of hair and five o'clock shadow were now the trademark Roland Ginger. Gabriella looked so much like her father now that he saw him in person, the only differences were, as a man, Jacoby had sharp features and also … he looked dirt old, probably due to stress if Kidd picked up on anything from the time he had been in the RC.

"_Dad!_" Vinnie suddenly spoke up for the first time since they arrived at the villa and he rushed to his father's side and clung to the tattered brown overcoat hanging from his father's shoulders.

Jacoby smiled weakly and patted his son's head. "Hey there sport," and he ruffled Vinnie's ginger locks. "Everything'll be alright, ya hear?" Though he said the words, Jacoby didn't sound convinced. But, no one said anything about that observation and as he looked towards them, his eyes meeting with one before the next. "There was a lot of commotion outside. I came to see what's up."

"Is the fighting distracting Lulu?" George inquired sternly. "I was trying to avoid that," and then he looked to Mason and Kidd with a mild glare.

Jacoby shook his head slowly. "Lulu just finished. That's why I came out."

When Kidd heard that, he was ready to pounce, push pass the older man and rush to Gabriella's side. From the sound of it, the poison may have been removed but that didn't mean she was out of the clear. He didn't know what was going on, but hell, he knew poisons had nasty side effects; his arm was proof of that. That closed door was also blocking his path; he'd kick it down. Sure, this was his girlfriend's house, but he was positive he would be forgiven given the situation.

Though, before he could even move, he was stopped by the master of the house.

"Kidd, was it?" Jacoby looked directly at him. "Eustass Kidd, the captain from the outside?"

Kidd hesitated when he was directly spoken to and glanced towards the older man, his brow arching curiously. "Um, yeah?"

"Before you go, mind if we had a quick chat?" Jacoby asked politely. "In private, that is."

Kidd pursed his lips; oddly enough he had a confusing mix of emotions going on within him when he heard the question. His mind told him something bad was going to happen, but his gut told him otherwise, and he felt they should have been reversed at least. But apparently not. "Uh, sure …" Kidd replied slowly.

Jacoby cracked a wide grin and then waved for the redhead to follow him.

* * *

><p>It was the beginning signs of dawn as a mix of red and yellow rays blended together to back a brilliant shade of orange. Kidd gulped as he leaned against a pillar that supported an extension of the roof that covered an outdoor courtyard. So, this is what it felt like to have the talk with your girlfriend's dad. He didn't know how this was going to go considering there was only completely silence between the two as they watched the sun rise of the horizon.<p>

Kidd waited for Jacoby to say something, anything, because sure as hell he didn't know what to say. How do you talk to your girlfriend's dad; like seriously? Considering Gabriella was his first — and hopefully only — girlfriend, he drew a blank on this one. God, he wished he had Killer or Chamberlain here; they usually give good advice.

"So," the older man finally spoke, and Kidd even jumped when Jacoby said something, but luckily he didn't notice. "You've been taking care of my baby girl, right?" Jacoby asked, never breaking eye contact with treetops in the distance.

Kidd glanced towards the older man nodded slowly, afraid his voice would betray him. Not that he was worried or anything trivial like that; he just didn't want to appear like a fool before his girlfriend's father.

Jacoby must have seen the action from the corner of his eye because he sighed in relief. "Good," murmured, a faint smirk on his lips. "She's been one for bad luck at times. So, she needs a good man to keep her outta trouble, alright?"

Kidd merely nodded again; he couldn't help but think Gabriella just having bad luck was an understatement. No matter how much Kidd tried to stop it — since he was gaining years due to too many jump scares — nothing changed it.

Jacoby then looked to him, a wide grin reaching from ear to ear. "Keep doin' a good job when it comes to protecting my daughter, okay?"

Kidd couldn't help himself, but he had to look away quickly when he heard the 'compliment'. Harshly, he bit his lip until he felt the sting of pain zap his nerves. He couldn't agree with the old man on that. He just couldn't. He hadn't been doing a good job, if he had then Gabriella wouldn't have been attack, poisoned and in a coma trying to wake up.

How was he doing a good job when all this happened to her in a course of a few hours? And this wasn't counting all the times in the past.

God, he was the worst boyfriend in the world.

"Also, can you promise me something?" Jacoby suddenly asked after the long pause.

Kidd shook off the gloom and doom thoughts from his mind and then turned to face the older man with a heavy look in his eyes. "… Sure." He mumbled under his breath, taking no time to hide how upset he was.

"Marry my daughter and make me lots of grandbabies." Jacoby requested with upmost seriousness.

…

Kidd's brows furrowed together in confusion as he processed the sentence.

…

_What?_

Something snapped within his head and Kidd's mind went blank, completely blacking out as if it was drunk and decided it wanted to sleep. There were no words to say and he just stood there, staring at the goofy grin the older man gave him.

_This… __is__ awkward_.

* * *

><p>Cold, the air was bitter cold, like she was laying in a bed of snow at the top of a frigid summit high in the in the sky. She wished she had a blanket, a coat, something to keep her warm. She shivered in her numb skin and her bone rattled against each other, harmonizing with her chattering teeth.<p>

She felt she could die, and she wouldn't even remember how she got here. How she got to such a cold place, and she didn't even have the strength to open her eyes.

So cold.

_So cold…_

Then suddenly there was a shroud of warmth engulfing her form and her body was moved. Someone moved her, their touch so gentle as if they treated her like delicate glass in their embrace. Her side lounged against whomever chest belong to her savior, and she felt strong arms wrapped around her, fabric draped of her exposed skin to shield her from the harsh temperature biting away at her skin. Heat swarmed the blood of her veins, giving life to her deteriorating body and she was able to open her eyes for the first time since she grew semi-conscious in this strange place.

There was nothing there save the black fabric obstructing her field of vision. Curious and with regained strength, she moved her head away from the chest it rested upon and she looked up.

And he eyes opened wide in shock.

The soft expression in golden eyes that looked down upon her, the warm smile as a single hand was lifted to ruffle her ginger locks.

_Ohdan._

Caden continued to stroke her hair, the smile on his lips so tiny yet it put her mind at ease so much. "_Everything will be fine_," he told her, trying to put her mind at rest.

She wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Caden chuckled as she continually opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, and then he pressed her head back against his chest. "_Just rest little one. Mortalitas had more pending issues to deal with so you are here. You were poisoned and were __struggling__ to survive. The Dark One sent me here to make sure you held on until he could properly return, but it seems you are doing well now that the poison is gone from your system now._"

Gabriella didn't know what so say even if she could say anything at all, but her memories where coming back. The assassin, the fight, and then the sneak attack. The voice she heard from her assailant, it was Rayus. His voice had matured over the years, but there was still that arrogantly cocky tone; that was something he could not outgrow apparently.

Then suddenly a harsh wind rushed passed them, rustling the loose fabric of her Ohdan's clothing.

Caden tilted his head back, his ginger locks moving with the winds and he calmly said: "_He has returned. He will send you back now._"

Her eyes then grew heavy, and every time he blinked, reality shifted back and forth between Caden and Vinnie, both images so blurry and similar that it was making her dizzy. She groaned, a dark film coating her eyes as her mind started to slip back to the world where she belonged.

But, before she was lost from the dreamscape, Caden told her one last thing:

"_Congratulations,_" and then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


	115. Chapter 112: Home Again New World

**Not happy with this chapter due to a stressful week. I was pretty close to canceling this weeks updates due to this stressful week, but I couldn't. So, I give you this. It will probably be updated this weekend though... You'll will know by next Sunday.**

**Edited 10/13/2013: I said I'd edit this piece of crap. Now, it's better. Some of you that already read this might not see it, but I do. So, that's all that matters to me. :)**

Velonica14: Kidd will come around...sooner or later.

Girl-luvs-manga: Lol...

Alpenwolf: Burgrate and Jacoby are polar opposites

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Shhh! This is development for Kidd! He doesn't need to know that.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Rayus doesn't die...he still has an important part to play.

: We'll see.

YourWorstNightmare33: You'll see.

Kiteria: Mason and Kidd will duke it out...one day.

Disclaimer:I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

**P.S. Sorry for mistakes.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 112: Home Again New World<p>

Gabriella woke up with a gasp of shock, her golden eyes wide as she sat up straight, and her forehead roughly bumped into her younger two Roland children had the same reaction; they clutched their sudden sores and groaning at the , little Vinnie was the first to break free of the agony from the bump, yet tears still streamed down his cheeks. All for his sister.

He let out a wail as if he were a mere child again and not a fresh tween, and he embraced his elder sister, wrapping his arms around her neck tightly.

Gabriella was stunned how the noise in the room escalated when everyone found out she was awake. She really didn't understand their concern, and why it was so extreme. Then again, she knew everything would be alright thanks to her Ohdan, they did not. Vinnie was sobbing just like her mother and her father's face was washed in relief. Mason looked ready to pounce like a cat onto a mouse in the corner, but George was keeping the meat-head at bay.

Gabriella was happy they were all worried about her, but there was someone missing, and it was plainly obvious who it was.

"Where's Kidd?" she finally popped the question as she patted Vinnie's head to comfort him.

"He's out back," Jacoby jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I had talked to him a few minutes ago and he said he'd remain there a little while longer."

Gabriella had a sinking feeling in her stomach that her father told her boyfriend something _extremely _stupid. Kidd was a strong man; he probably had the strength to pop a guy's head off like a daisy with his bare hands, but he was weak willed about certain things, like marriage and making babies. Marriage and making babies so happened to be the one thing her father wanted for her, for the sole reason of her heritage; he was afraid she would never find love due to being a Roland. She was happy her father worried, but she was a big girl now. She found love in all the right places—though some might disagree—and she needed to take it slow with Kidd. For the sake of his poor heart.

He had to be ready, and her father intervening was not helping the cause.

"I'll go see him now," Gabriella briskly declared as she wiggled out of Vinnie's tight grip and hurried to the back of the villa.

Mason had tried to stop her, but her _father_ had grabbed him by the ear and jerked him back, stopping the meat-head in his tracks. It was official, her father saw Kidd has a potential suitor and Mason was brushed to the side, again. Gabriella almost felt sorry for him, but she had other things to worry about, and that was Kidd's state of mind.

She found Kidd where her father said he would be. Her boyfriend was leaning against one of the pillars that held up the extended roof, and his arms folded as he stared at the rising run in deep thought. There was a dark grimace on his lips, his eyes glanced down to the ground where he tapped his foot repeatedly.

Gabriella could only think of the worst; she hoped he wasn't scarred for life. "Hey…" She timidly greeted as she wrapped her arms around his folded one, weaving her fingers atop the crook of his elbow. Then she rested her head against his shoulder, her cheek feeling how tense his muscles were, and her touch didn't relax him; that worried her.

"Hmm," he grunted, his expression never changing. "Hey."

Gabriella shifted uncomfortably where she stood and tapped her fingers against his arm. "I…I hope Dad didn't freak you out…" she sheepishly told him. "He's just worried about me…"

"It was out of left field," Kidd admitted bluntly, his brows knotting together even more, but then he shook his head to clear his thoughts. "But that's not what's bugging me."

Gabriella's brows furrowed in confusion. "What's on your mind?" she inquired quietly.

Kidd was silent for a moment, his lips pressed in a thin line before he poured his guts out. "…I hate that when I'm not near you, something bad happens to you. I'm supposed to protect you, and for two years I have been doing a shitty job about it. I'm probably the worst boyfriend of all time because of that. Why can't fate cut me a little slack, huh? Its bullshit I tell ya, bullshit. I just want to protect you, that's it."

Gabriella was taken back, but she should have seen that one coming. Considering what happened to her, Kidd would probably would feel like this since this wasn't the first time something like this occurred. It was life though; she was used to it by now. But, she had Mortalitas on her side. As of now, she was untouchable. And even after Copy Cat was dead, she was _still _untouchable, and Kidd should know that best of all.

"You _do_ protect me," she corrected with a smile and moved closer to him in comfort. "Despite my bad luck. You always come save me, my unconventional prince," and then she pulled way and shifted to face him directly. The pressing her hands to his chest, she stood up on her tippy-toes and gave him a tiny peck to the lips.

Kidd sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, then he glanced away, trying to hide the slight pink tint on his cheeks in the rising sunlight. "Just don't leave my side again."

Gabriella chuckled softly and grinned as she embraced his warmth. "The thought never came to mind."

* * *

><p>Kidd propped his feet up on his desk, crossed his ankles and lounged back in his seat with a sigh. Looking up, he stared at the ceiling of his office, the wooden boards creaking with the swaying ship in the waves.<p>

So much had happened. He and Gabriella had returned to the ship, and still went through that one second time-skip that was actually worth twelve hours; god he hated only seconds after returning his was bombarded by his crew; it was the equivalent of Santa being mobbed by a sea of hyper brats on candy cane were eager to see his safe return and they chattered nonstop about Raftel and how Jeremy made some connections through the notes he brought from Athens and saw that the end of the Grand Line was coming. One Piece was almost there.

Kidd was still freaking out about Gabriella's near death experience and also her father's bluntness, now there was One Piece to stress about, too. Battles with enemies, rivals and allies—he used the term loosely—was on the horizon. Don't get him wrong, he was excited like hell, but one major thing at a time please. It was docking years off his life.

His crew noticed the lack of a reaction on his part, and inquired about what was wrong and if something had happened. Kidd didn't want to bring it up, better yet, he wanted to forget about it and never let it happen again. So, he brushed them off, and like the loyal sea-dogs they were, they left it be. But Killer and Chamberlain, those two called him out on the bullshit.

Still, Kidd didn't want to talk about it, therefore he abandoned their interrogation and went to hide out in his office until they docked. Well, they had docked a few hours ago, but the solitude was relaxing; he needed some alone time after all the past events. But, now that they were docked…he was getting a little paranoid, paranoid about Gabriella.

She didn't leave the ship yet, right?

…

He couldn't answer that.

And since he couldn't answer that, he shot up from his seat and stalked to the bedroom, the last place he saw her hours ago.

Opening the door, he half expected to see it empty, but oh boy did he let out a long sigh of relief when he saw her. He promised her dad he'd protect her…

But then his brows furrowed in confusion when he saw _what _she was doing. Gabriella was lying on the floor beside the bed, mumbling something soft under her breath as she moved her arms underneath trying to reach something.

Why was she doing _that?_ What the hell did she want?

"…Babe?" Kidd slowly questioned as he cautiously walked over to her. "…What's up?"

"Not now…" Gabriella brushed off his comment and continued on with her unknown task. "Help me out here."

Kidd's brow rose in confusion. "How?"

"Pull me out," was her command.

He was still confused as hell, but nonetheless, he did as she said. He leaned over, and steadied himself as he hooked his metal hand comfortably against her stomach. Then with a gentle tug, he pulled her out.

His eyes opened wide in shock when he saw _Kilrain_ in her arms. "What the fuck?"

The large mutt was trembling in her grasp as Gabriella managed sit up properly, her hold on the whimpering dog firm so he wouldn't run away.

Gabriella merely sighed, and then explained. "It's time for the babies to get a checkup at the _v-e-t_."

* * *

><p>There was an overwhelming scent of cinnamon and cream cheese in the air as Kidd strolled into the island's local veterinary clinic. It was like he walked into a wall of freshly baked carrot cake; he knew about carrot cake since his mother owned a bakery back home in the South Blue. It wasn't as if it were bad or anything, it was just a little <em>too <em>much for his taste. Though, he'd rather deal with the strong smell of carrot cake than the whining of three upset dogs.

Hamish was tucked under his arm, wiggling frantically to try and escape and Kidd had to constantly tug on Kilrain's leash to make sure the giant mutt would move from sitting outside the doorway and into the clinic. What the hell; Kilrain was _Chamberlain's_ fucking dog. Why the hell was it _him_ taking the mutt to the vet?

Kidd was in a sour mood nonetheless, and he grumbled darkly under his breath. Many curses came from his mouth as he stood in the lobby beside Gabriella, his summoner mage eyeing him anxiously as she held Ezio in her arms.

Kidd was indirectly terrorizing an old man with his cat and a woman who had her son and parrot in the waiting room. Gabriella tried to smile kindly at the three as she cuddled her little Ezio close to her chest, but the look of fear never changed since Kidd's grimace never did as well.

_Oh dear._

Then suddenly the door at the back of the lobby opened and the aroma of carrot cake mixed with the stench disinfectant made Kidd's nose scrunch in disgust. And the chain reaction of his expression was the other patients flinching in fright.

Gabriella could only sigh with a shake of her head and then she turned her attention towards the veterinarian that waltz out of the room with a smile on her lips.

She was a short woman, her tiny form drowning in the excess fabric of her medical coat, and as she looked down at the clipboard in her hand, she tucked a strand of platinum blonde hair behind her ear. "Mr. Miller?" She glanced to the older man in the waiting room with soft brown eyes. "I'm ready to see Charlie now."

The old man opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, unable to speak the words he wanted. Incapable of spitting it out, he clutched his little orange tabby close to his chest and pointed a shaky finger towards the couple and their dogs.

The vet quirked a thin brow and looked to Kidd and Gabriella, smiling brightly. "Oh, welcome!" she greeted them happily. "I usually don't see new face, especially a well-known Yonko! But," she then went sternly, a motherly stern as she placed a hand to her hip and wagged her finger towards the couple. "Yonko or not, you have to wait in line like everyone else."

"W—we don't mind if they go ahead!" the woman with her son quickly said, beads of sweat streaming down her cheeks and brow, and then she turned to the older man. "Isn't the right, Mr. Miller?" and the older man eagerly agreed as he nodded his head frantically.

The vet eyed them warily, but then she merely shrugged and looked to Kidd and Gabriella with a smile. "I'm Solomon Katarina. Come this way please," and she ushered them to follow.

As soon as they were in the backroom and the door was closed, Kidd dropped Kilrain's leash and placed Hamish on the floor, the two dogs scurrying to the corner in a feeble attempt to hide.

Gabriella chuckled lightly at the sight of her quivering babies. "This is their first time at the vet," she told the veterinarian sheepishly.

"Whether it's the first or not, they always act like this," the vet replied with a smile. "And I think this little guy will be my first patient since his brothers are hiding," and she leaned over to pat Ezio on the head.

Ezio whimpered at the touch and he started to cry when Katarina picked him up and placed him on the examination table. Despite Ezio's poor attitude to the situation, the vet worked with a smile. Gabriella observed the inspection of her littlest baby, but then she noticed movement from the corner of her eye.

It was a little girl, no older than six years old hiding behind the desk. The tiny strawberry blonde was staring intensely at Kidd—the redhead grimacing down at the floor with crossed arms—and it looked like many thoughts were running through the child's mind.

Gabriella strayed away from the veterinarian looking at Ezio and she went over to the little girl, crouching down so they were at eyelevel. Then with a smile, she said: "Hey there."

"…" The little girl was silent and shuffled further behind the corner of the desk and blushed with bright pink cheeks.

"Oh that's my daughter," Katarina chimed in with a proud smile. "Be nice, and say hello Dolce."

Dolce avoided eye contact with the ginger, turning her blue eyes to the corner of the room as she quietly murmured. "…'lo."

"Awe, Dolce," Katarina doted over her pride and joy, a motherly grin reaching from ear to ear. "Isn't she the cutest little thing you ever did see?

Gabriella giggled and nodded. "Of course she is!" she replied and then swiftly brought Dolce into a tight hug.

Apparently, the little girl was used to being in bone crushing hugs and having her little face smothered to the chest of a woman. Dolce didn't even flinch, and instead used the closeness to her advantage and whispered into Gabriella's ear, but she didn't keep her voice down whatsoever. "Why isn't he wearing a shirt? Papa says that grown-ups that don't wear shirts are like peacocks."

Gabriella pulled away slightly and then arched a brow at the curious comment. "Peacocks?"

"Peacocks," Dolce repeated with a serious look. "You know. Dumb birds."

Gabriella blinked her eyes in shock, but then a smile spread on her lips and she laughed, but Kidd didn't find it humorous at all.

Katarina felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of her cheek, and she opened her mouth to mildly scold her daughter for the blunt insult to a potentially dangerous pirate captain. Though, before she could even speak one word, there was a small tremble from above that shook the room. Everyone looked up, and then there was the sound of rushed footsteps from across the floor and down a set of stairs behind a door in the corner of the office.

"_I'm a-okay!_" A man burst through the door, a thin sheet of ash over his muscular form, his skin and clothing stained a blotchy black, and his brown hair singed and sticking up in all different directions. "There was just a minor chemical reaction that went awry."

Katarina sighed and shook her head. "Oh Solomon Barrett, you silly fool. You were daydreaming again, weren't you?"

The man eyed his wife with an amused smirk, but then he noticed Kidd glowering in the corner. "Why is there a peacock in my house?"

Kidd growled in response, his.

Barrett seemed unaffected by the murderous aura and turned his full attention upon his wife as she walked over to him.

"You should really take a shower, my silly fool," she suggested as she wiped a bit of ash from her husband's cheek. "You're a complete mess."

"Oh, but Kitty," Barrett wiggled his eyes brows at her charmingly. "You know you adore my musty manliness," and he flexed his biceps full of pride.

Katarina let out an elegant laugh and she wrapped folded her hands atop the bulging muscles of his arm. "You know I adore everything about you~," and she said it with hearts in her brown eyes.

Barrett sighed happily, his blue irises turning into matching hearts like his wife's and swiftly grabbed his wife's hand and he stared at her passionately. "And I adore everything about you~!"

"Oh you flatter me, you silly fool~!" She turned he head away with a crimson blush.

"Oh, but it's true my little Kitty~!" Barrett swooned and rested his forehead against hers.

"Oh you~!" Katarina giggled as she rubbed her nose against his repeatedly.

Kidd paled at the scene before him, his skin losing all blood and body going numb. He felt _extremely _uncomfortable watching Katarina and Barrett being lovey-dovey right before his eyes. There was a pink mist that suffocated the room and hearts floated and then popped like bubbled around the room. The sense of pink and hearts and love made his stomach churn.

He even groaned in disgust as he was forced to watch, and he tried to turn around, but that didn't even help him. The atmosphere was potent; he actually felt sick. He wanted to throw up so badly. Never before had he seen a couple act like this in public, in front of people. He didn't understand, and he prayed to god that he and Gabriella would never turn out like this.

They wouldn't…

Right?

* * *

><p>The horizon was like a sheet was thick rain and storm clouds, though the island they were docked at was completely was the biggest sign that they were closing in on all the sea charts, calculations, weather pressure and many Sea King sightings, the wall of rain was the biggest indication of Raftel, the last island of the Grand is why islanders close to Raftel would never travel, even out of curiosity. The weather was the worst in the entire that went in there either came back scarred for life and empty handed, or were never seen again.<p>

Well, Kidd was going to change that, of course. Kidd was going to become King of the Pirates, after all. He had other fish to fry before he charged blindly into the most dangerous section of the world, and some of those fish so happen to be personal issues, an issue that was bugging him ever since they returned from the veterinary clinic.

Gabriella—though her baby pups were lying on the deck completely worn—was perky, humming a happy song as she sat down on the deck, Hamish and Kilrain at her sides and Ezio in her lap.

Apparently she hadn't been affected by the scene at the clinic, but Kidd… Yeah, Kidd had been. "Hey babe," he finally spoke up. "Do you think we'll end up like _that_ in the future?"

Gabriella must have known exactly what he was talking about, because with a blissfully smile, she answered with a very cheerful; "_Yes!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Those of you who have read "Loving Justice" know who Dolce is. She was one of the two winners, and after much thought, I have decided to put the two winners into the storyline of BonesHis Heir. Lexi will appear in the future.**

**Beta read by twinklesilverstar.**


	116. Chapter 113: Sensitivity

**NOTE: I edited the previous chapter. Just so you all know...**

Velonica14: Yeah...Kidd's not gonna end up like that. xD

Alpenwolf: It's from Loving Justice, my Dutch Laddie. xD

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Well about those other adventures...ha...ha...*runs away*

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I always wanted to draw Kidd holding Ezio. xD!

**P.S. The End is almost here.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 113: Sensitivity.<p>

It was unbearable. The feeling, the sensation that it gave off. She didn't know the cause, this wasn't the first time they had done it nor was it the last. But, if this kept up, then maybe it would be their last. Kidd wouldn't be happy about that, and neither would she, actually.

But the feeling, it made her heart race on full throttle and her nails dug into the bare skin of his back until blood trickled from the tiny wounds. Did Kidd even notice her distress? Apparently not since all he did was pull her closer and groan in her ear.

This was misery for her, and he didn't seem to care. That ticked her off, a tiny vein of irritation popping on her brow and she acted out revenge. She wanted him to know it wasn't kittens and rainbows for her right now.

Gabriella's jaw clenched tightly and a growl rumbled in the back of her throat as her rigid fingers weaved through his crimson locks. Her nails scratched his scalp, and he grunted at the exploit; he knew something was amiss, but he got the full hint when her fingers curled into a trembling fist and she yanked his head back as far back as she could.

Kidd yelped in pain as his body jerked back to ease the pain she inflicted upon him and he grabbed his neck, the source that accumulated a sharp throbbing sensation. In his mind, she was lucky he could speak due to the agony or less he would have cursed her out.

Gabriella, though, was just as angry as he was; it was a little more on the indirect side, but she was furious none the less. Cursing in the foreign tongues of the devils, the summoner mage jabbed her foot against his muscular torso, her heel probably being inflected with more pain then his abdomen. "S—stop…" she muttered meekly, her tone nowhere near comparison of her actions. Then she curled her legs up to hide her exposed form. "It hurts…" she murmured as she tilted her head back, resting against the headboard.

Kidd's rage simmered down and he eyed her in confusion as he still nursed the pains in his neck. "Eh?" was the only thing he managed to say.

"It hurts," Gabriella repeated, sighing as she avoided eye contact by looking to the corner of the room in annoyance.

Kidd's brows knotted together and he forgot his sores and loomed over her vulnerable form. Gingerly, he reached out and cradled her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "What do you mean by that?" he questioned quietly. "It hurts?"

Gabriella shifted uncomfortable and glanced away, focusing her attention on his shoulder. "Maybe hurt isn't the best term…" she mumbled softly as a tiny pink blush came to her cheeks. "It's just … sensitive."

Kidd's brow arched in curiosity. "Sensitive?" He slowly inquired and moved even closer to her, his forehead against hers.

The amount of embarrassment she felt couldn't even be described; this wasn't something she wanted to talk about at the moment. "Yeah. Sensitive," she grumbled and nudged him away with a hand to his shoulder. "It's hard to describe."

"Try," Kidd bluntly countered. "I can't help if you don't talk to me."

Gabriella glared at him, mildly annoyed. "It's enough help if we just stop."

Kidd scowled in return, and the summoner mage thought he was going to bring up something about sex, but to her surprise he didn't have that in mind. "It leaves a bitter feeling in my gut knowing I'm hurting you, ya know." He stated sternly. "You say it's not exactly pain, but the first thing you told me was _stop, it hurts,_" and then he grabbed her chin again, more firmly this time and looked her directly in the eye, whether she wanted to or not. "So tell me what it is."

She just wanted to stop, wasn't that enough for him? No, because Kidd cared for her. There was nothing wrong with that, don't get her wrong, but this was a humiliating situation. It was an awkward topic since she had no idea how to tell him. She didn't want to sound stupid. Grumbling, she swatted his hand away and turned her head sharply to the side. Luckily, he was patient with her as she tried to figure out the best possible way to describe what was going on because apparently the words hurt and sensitive were too vague. "It's like I'm a tight virgin," was the best way to describe. "The hurt and awkward feelings minus the blood."

Kidd stared at her, a blank expression on his face as he rapidly blinked.

Gabriella blushed scarlet red at his reaction.

"Wow." Kidd muttered. "That's a turn on."

More heat flushed to her cheeks and she shoved her hands to his face. "You pervert!" She yelped.

Kidd just chuckled, despite being pushed away, and he just invaded her personal space even more. "It's only the truth." He grinned mischievously and leaned over to plant a tiny peck to her cheek. Then he whispered deviously into her ear. "Now let's finish~."

"_No._" She snapped, trying to escape his embrace, but it was useless.

"I'll be gentle." Kidd countered with a smirk as he nuzzled her neck.

"Hah," Gabriella laughed sarcastically. "You? Gentle? I laugh at the thought."

"I can be gentle and you know it," Kidd replied with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Why don't I remind you, eh?"

* * *

><p>The ragged looking galleon floated into port, the ship causing quite a stir among the other sailors and pirates walking along the many docks. Though, it wasn't anything good. Nothing of legendary feats like the new pirate pact the King's Alliance, the six crews that took down two Yonko and crushed the reign of a Warlord.<p>

This crew known as the Foxy Pirates were an utter laughing stock. Two years ago, back in Paradise they were well known for conducting elaborate Davy Back Fights and stealing five hundred members from various crews and also their Jolly Rogers. But then it all came crashing down due to a single crew that took the world by storm. Ever since that day, it was all downhill for the Foxy Pirates, they were ridiculed for their sloppy and childish Jolly Roger given to them through a Davy Back Fight.

They were known for being a stickler for "rules" and stuck to them, the rules they made at least. They tried to use a loophole by stealing a flag of good worth and status, but that plan was way over their heads. They were too weak compared to the crew of excellent status, and most of them were in the New World.

Stupid enough to try and redeem themselves, the Foxy Pirates went to the most dangerous part of the Grand Line to get their infamous status once more.

Hopeless, it was hopeless.

They lost many of their crew members due to attacks conducted by the Marines, Schichbukia allies, Yonko Fleet ships, Sea Kings, and of course, the unexpected nature of the New World. They hadn't done one Davy Back Fight the few months due to these violent opponents. It was a pity, but a hilarious pity for others that could handle it.

The Foxy Pirates didn't take the humiliation well, and the captain of the crew blamed one person and one person alone: Straw Hat Luffy. Though, this hatred extended far and wide, pinning the entire Straw Hat crew and every person in the King's Alliance. Not the smartest move—though he hadn't made any in two years—considering the King's Alliance had _two_ Yonko within the pact and also a potential _King of Pirates_ candidate, but raw emotion made people do crazy shit.

That, dear readers, was a fact of nature.

Captain Foxy Silvers stumbled from the creaky gangplank that connected his equally creaky galleon to the sturdy dock. With slouched shoulders, he looked up at his once beautiful beauty and sighed deeply as the remaining members of his once large crew worked tiredly to repair all the damages. Then, his ears twitched uncontrollably as he heard the snickering at the end of the dock and he saw a bunch of sailors ridiculing his ship and crew's state. He whipped his head around and scowled murderously at the group and guess what they did; they laughed. They showed no shame and laughed at his despair as they continued on their merry way.

Grinding his teeth together, he barked: "Porche!" and he stomped his foot repeatedly against the dock. "Get over 'ere now!"

The idol of his crew shuffled over briskly, the vain woman applying makeup over the bruises on her cheeks with a compact in hand. "Yes, Boss…?" she mumbled as she powdered her pale skin.

"What's the status of the crew?" Foxy sharply asked, lanky arms crossed over his chest. "And the ship! When will it be repaired?"

Porche closed her hand, the compact clicking shut in her palm and she sighed wearily. "To tell the truth, it would be cheaper to get a new ship."

"What!?" Foxy's jaw dropped to the ground.

"We don't need a this big ship anymore, anyway," Porche continued sadly as she crossed her arms and glanced up sadly at the old ship, her glossy eyes framed by the Foxy Pirates trade mark mask. "We don't have that many people anymore…"

"How many did we lose in just two days!?" Foxy shouted in disbelief.

"And it's not like we can get any more members either." Porche ignored her captain and continued on again. "We haven't done a Davy Back Fight in years…and there's no chance we could win," and she hung her head low in grief.

The last comment made him snap into rage and he whacked her upside the head. "Knock it off!" and he brought her back to reality. "We can still do Davy Back Fights!"

Porche clutched the back of her head and groaned. "B—but Boss—!"

"_Boss~!_" The yell of his other—living—commanding officer came from the other end of the dock, waving his large hand as he barreled towards him with that large lumbering body of his.

"What is it Hamburg?" Foxy snapped, the captain in a rather bitter mood.

Hamburg rested a moment to collect his breath, hands on his knees as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. "I—I—I saw…" the leader of the Groggy Monsters started to say and then he snapped his head up, hearts in his eyes and ginger blush on his pudgy cheeks. "I saw _her_, Captain!"

"Oh?" Foxy mused and quirked a brow. "Who was it?"

The blush on Hamburg's cheeks darkened in color and he squealed—literally, just like a school girl—and started to dance happily where he stood. "_Exotic Scarlet~!_"

"_**WHAT!**_"

Every man on the ship heard what the Groggy Monster leader said and turned their attention to the dancing gorilla, the same blushes forming on their cheeks. Then they started to chatter anxiously amongst themselves about the crews all time—new—crush, the one and only Exotic Scarlet. Though, Porche would have to disagree with the crew's little 'idol' from another crew.

She arrogantly huffed with arms crossed over her chest and she turned her nose high up in the air. "She's ain't _that_ great." The true idol scoffed.

Her captain would disagree since Foxy had the biggest crush on her out of all the men on his crew; he was a true blue fan. He felt like he was in the twilight zone…of love. He never thought he'd live to see the day where he saw Exotic Scarlet in the flesh. Hell, after all he went through in the New World, he was shocked he made it to the edge of the last stretch, but also on that same island was Exotic. Oh, he could die a happy man.

_Wait._

This was the motivation he needed. A lightbulb went off above his head and he smirked devilishly. Chuckling wickedly, he tapped his fingers together evilly and he mumbled. "I think it's time for a _Davy Back Fight~_."

* * *

><p>Gabriella groaned, swaying back and forth as she held her stomach, the aching pains increasing by the second.<p>

Kidd glanced over towards her for the nineteenth time, a frown on his lips. He had asked her the first time what was wrong, but she only said it was a tummy ache. Though as time passed by, the pained expression on her face deepened and she would stop grumbling to herself. Halting the conversation he was having with his first and second mate and turned his full attention to his summoner mage.

"Seriously, babe," Kidd eyed her with concern in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know~…" Gabriella whined childishly as she tilted her head back, her eyes clamped shut as she quivered in agony. "I have the worst set of cramps in the world~…"

The three men were silent; Kidd looked to Killer and Killer looked to Heat, and the second mate merely shrugged, which caused the chain reaction of Killer to shrug towards Kidd. The redhead was alone on this one.

"Err…" Kidd really didn't know what to say because they all knew what it probably way, but talking about it in public was rather taboo.

Though Heat had the courage to say something. "Is it…that time?" He questioned slowly.

But Killer wouldn't have it. He held up his hand in front of the second mate's face. "Don't even say it."

Gabriella just groaned again and leaned forward, resting her head against Kidd's broad chest. "Get me painkillers, please…" she whispered into the fabric of his shirt.

A tiny sigh slipped past his lips and then he looked towards his first and second mates. "Where's Doc?"

"Not here," Killer answered bluntly.

"But there's a pharmacy nearby," Heat added. "I heard Doc saying it was the most pitiful building in the entire world due to lack of appropriate stock."

Kidd slowly blinked. "Do they have painkiller or not?" was all he wanted to know.

"Probably," Heat shrugged.

"Then let's go get some." Kidd ultimately decided. "Wire will be fine taking care of things for a few minutes," then he turned to his summoner mage. "C'mon."

"_Mmmm…_" She moaned as her fingers curled, grabbing his shirt tightly. "Carry me…"

Kidd exhaled sharply, but he didn't argue. She was in pain, and he wanted to ease that by making her as comfortable as possible. So, he did as she asked and picked her up, carrying her in his arms. The three of them—while the fourth was carried—to the pharmacy. Once there, Kidd put Gabriella back on her own two feet. He wasn't carrying her into the building; he had to draw the line somewhere. Gabriella moaned in disappointment, but Kidd wouldn't have it. Unless she was dying, he wasn't going to carry her anymore. Why? Because…he had a bad feeling in his gut about something.

And Lord and behold, something did happen. But, Kidd wasn't entirely sure if it could be considered bad? It was hard to explain.

Before he could explain to her that she needed to walk a bit on her own for a while, there was the sound of rumbling feet. It was like the drummers section of a marching band getting closer and closer until from the roof tops and alleyways came what looked like masked clowns, fucking _clowns_. They circled them, acting all cocky and shit with smug grins and chuckles. And then the pièce de résistance, the 'clown car' came. A busted up wagon that looked to be shoddily nailed together with scrap wood was pulled by a man that resembled a gorilla and then a shady looking weasel sat atop of the wagon with a woman that looked unbelievably annoyed with the situation.

Then the shady weasel stood up tall, an arrogant grin on his crackled lips and he pointed a thumb to his chest. "I am the magnificent, marvelous Captain Foxy Silvers, and I challenge _you_," he then rudely jabbed a finger towards Kidd. "Eustass '_Captain_' Kidd to a _Davy Back Fight!_"

The members—only the males since the few women of the crew look aggravated—of the Foxy Pirates began to cheer, chanting taunts towards the redhead to try and intimidate him.

Kidd just rolled his eyes at the feeble attempt. "No," was his answer; he had more important things to do.

The Foxy Pirates looked to be in shock; they all looked like they were expecting him to say something else. He would have thought they'd try and jeer at him more, but they would be pushing their luck. Kidd. The only reason he didn't beat the living shit out of the lot now was because Gabriella was clinging to hisarm in complete pain. She came first, after all.

Foxy Silvers began to bite his nails nervously, for whatever reason; it was like something big was riding on this. Then his eyes opened wide and his whole demeanour did a 180 and he smirked coyly once more. "There's a punishment for refusing a Davy Back Fight…" he chuckled darkly and he pointed towards Gabriella with a pink blush on his cheeks. "You have to give up a crew member! And I choose her!"

Kidd inhaled and then exhaled sharply as he pinched the bridge of this nose. _Try to stay calm; Painkillers for Gabriella, Gabriella needs painkillers_. "You just made that up," he grumbled through his grinding teeth.

Foxy flinched in shock, and then tried to hide with a façade of confidence. "No I didn't! It's a secret rule!" He boldly declared, hands on his hips and his crew—the men—eagerly agreed.

"You think I'm a fool," Kidd's eyes narrowed darkly and pushed Gabriella off to the side so that he and his mates could shield her. "My Pops told me all about Davy Back Fights and that ain't a rule!"

Foxy cringed, his skin prickling at the cold stare and then he reverted to his last resort. He stuck out a hand, his middle and ring fingers pressed against his thumb and stuck out the other two while saying; "_Noro Noro Beam!_"

Then suddenly a circular ray came from his hand and engulfed Kidd, Killer and Heat, their movements slowed to that of a snail's pace. And then the Foxy crew tried to pull a fast one and steal his summoner mage right from under his nose. The gorilla bastard barreled towards the weakened summoner mage and threw her over his shoulder and made a mad dash for the alley the other members of the Foxy Pirates were sprinting down.

"_Quick!_" Foxy bellowed over the panic of his crew. "We have twenty seconds to get away!"

Kidd's face went from confusion, shock and then rage, the emotions in its purest form, especially when he saw the look on his summoner mage's face. He didn't know if it was from the fact that her stomach hurt and she was thrown over some strangers shoulder rough, which made it worse. Or if it was because of the situation where she was being kidnapped so easily. Either way, Kidd was pissed when he saw tears streaming down her cheeks, and no one was going to escape him.

The twenty seconds were gone and Kidd was boiling steam from his ears and his skin was flushed crimson red, the shade so dark that his hairline could barely be seen. His whole body started to release sparks of magnetic energy, the purple wisps radiating from his from. The power so intense that every metal object heeded to his command, ranging from the tiny fork to the large beam of structural foundation.

Metal scraps of all sizes swarmed around him, the iron gleaming dangerously in the afternoon sun and in the distance he could hear the cries of fear. With a devious grin, Kidd chuckled. "You wanna fight, I'll give ya a fight," and then he let the games begin.

"Do you think he'll accidently hurt Gabriella?" Heat whispered the question to Killer as he watched his captain destroy half the city with a single move.

Killer shook his head. "He's not that careless," the masked blonde replied. "Kidd's sensitive about that kind of stuff, you know?"

* * *

><p>Kidd grumbled darkly as he leaned against the railing of his ship. After the events that happened this afternoon, he wasn't in a good mood in the slightly. He wanted to really kill something, slaughter something to pieces, but he couldn't.<p>

"Did Capt'n really destroy half the island?" Kidd overheard one of his crewmembers ask another, the tall man looking out at the remaining smoke filtering up into the night sky.

"Eh!?" The shorter man looked at the taller one in shock. "Where the fuck were you?"

"Sleeping."

"Really? Lame, man, lame."

"Just answer the question, dude!"

"Yeah. He did, heard that Foxy crew tried to kidnap Gabriella right before Boss's eyes."

"Shit! Did that guy want a death wish?"

"Who knows, but he's a lucky bastard that he got away. Well, only a few of them did."

"…I doubt that made Capt'n any better."

Then the two dared take a glance towards the captain, seeing that their conversation only soured his mood even more. When they saw the murderous aura, they scurried away quickly to avoid death.

Kidd watched them leave, his eyes narrow until they disappeared into the belly of the ship. Then with a scoff, he looked away sharply, his eyes closed tightly. He needed a drink, the hardest liquor in the world.

"Kidd…"

The voice of his summoner mage made him turn his attention back to the deck and he sighed. "Yeah?"

"Do you know where Doc is?" she asked quietly. "I'm still having cramps and the painkillers aren't helping," and then she placed her hands on her stomach. "I think I might have food poisoning…"

"Ah shit," Kidd pinched the bridge of his nose. "Really? This day just gets better and better…" he grumbled sarcastically.

"Hey," she placed a hand on his arm gently. "At least you saved me, right?" and she stood on her tippy-toes to give him a tiny kiss in the cheek. "I'm always safe by your side." She stated with a sweet smile.

Kidd just grunted; it was a sore subject for him right now. Gabriella could see that; she merely sighed and tapped his arms before leaving to find the doctor of the ship. He wasn't mad at her, just at fate itself. Was there any way to avoid this stress on his heart?

He figured one day there would be.

Then suddenly something touched his shoulder. Brow knitted together, he glanced to side to see a dove, a fucking dove.

The bird cooed, tucking her head under her wing to ruffle her feathers, and the action made the tiny bell around her neck ring gentle. But, Kidd then saw that the dove wasn't ruffling her feathers, but rather pulling a tiny letter from a pouch hidden under her wing.

Curious, Kidd took the message and read the neat words written on the paper.

_Gabriella, Captain Eustass._

_The plan will be set in motion soon. Meet with the emissary in the morning._

_Calamity._

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


	117. Chapter 114: Choices and Decisions

Shinigami-Kira-1917: Yup, the end is almost here.

Certified Chocoholic: Buggy might make another appearance...someday.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: The Foxy Pirates were a nice break, considering the bomb that's gonna be dropped soon...

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Kidd is always the one in charge when in bed, everywhere else Kidd is utterly whipped. xD

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 114: Choices and Decisions.<p>

"Babe." Kidd called into the room, scanning the area for her, but all he saw was Ezio and Hamish lounging on the wrinkled covers of the bed, the two pups sleeping soundly after their busy day. Kidds' brows furrowed together as he stepped through the entry and then closed the door to their bedroom. "Gabriella?" Kidd experimentally called for her again. "You in here babe?"

The blankets on the bed were messy and bunched up, and it looked like she was warmly cocooned within all the sheets. Kidd took gentle strides in case she was actually sleeping and when he was stood beside the bed, he slowly pulled the covers back, his brows knotted in annoyance when he only saw _Kilrain_ sleeping peacefully on his bed.

What the fuck was Chamberlains' mutt doing in the captains god damn quarters?

It was probably Gabriellas doing since she had a baby fetish, which reminded Kidd that he needed to have a little chat with her about who she lets sleep on their bed. Three dogs, a winged goblin, a bear and a kid, plus Gabriella and himself; two out of the eight were obviously alright, and three out of the remaining six _could_, though he didn't preferred it.

Though, he could worry about the dogs and the bed issue later; he had to find Gabriella. Doctor Dick told him that she left to the captain's quarters, but she was nowhere in sight. She had to be close though. Kilrain was usually with Gabriella or Chamberlain, and since Kilrain was here and not with the navigator, that meant Gabriella was nearby. Or Chamberlain was in his room, which was kinda weird.

A disturbed expression came to his face, but then it quickly melted away when he heard the bathroom door creak open.

Through the tiny crack, Kidd saw a tiny black shadow in the sliver of light allowed to pass through. "Errum…" it was Musket, the tiny goblin peeking out with a worried look in his large eyes. "Master's in here…"

Kidd's brow arched when he saw the strange reaction of the familiar; was Gabriella that sick? Concerned, he briskly made his way over to the bathroom and shoved the door open. The act made Musket squeal in shock when he was pushed with the momentum of the door, but Kidd's attention was focused on his summoner mage rather than her familiar.

Gabriella was curled up in a ball, nestled in the corner of the narrow room. Resting her back against the side of the bathtub and the side of her head against the wall, she sighed deeply and tucked a strand of ginger hair behind her pointed ear.

"Babe?" Kidd mumbled and warily moved closer, crouching down beside her. "Is your stomach bothering you that bad?" He asked, placing a comforting hand upon her head and she stroked her soft ginger hair.

"_Mmm?_" She murmured softly, her hand subconsciously going to her belly and her palm tenderly touched the exposed skin. "Not as much anymore." She answered with a relieved sigh and smiled softly.

"That's good," Kidd ruffled her hair with a smirk, but then his eyes opened wide; there was a reason why he can here and it was because of her stomach aches. Standing up from his crouched position, he stuffed his hand into the pocket of his pants. "I got this," and he handed her the note.

Gabriella slowly turned to the tiny piece of the paper and gingerly took it with her fingers. She unfolded it with a curious look in her golden irises, and as she read the tiny message her eyes went wide. Then quickly she faced him, craning her neck back so her stare bored into his eyes. "When are we leaving?" She anxiously asked.

"We still have a few hours." Kidd told her calmly, holding out his hands to help her up, and she gladly took it. Hoisting her back up onto her foot with a tiny tug of her hand, Kidd then continued. "There's a bit we need to do anyway. Raftel plans n' stuff. Killer's waiting for us in the office."

"I…" Gabriella looked down at her feet as her hand rubbed her stomach. "…I think I'd rather sleep instead."

Kidd frowned. "I thought you were feeling better."

"I'm…" She paused, sighing softly before looking up with a weak smile. "I am feeling better, but I wanna sleep a bit after all that's happened."

Kidd nodded slowly, but the look in his eyes was wary. "Okay," he responded and then leaned over to place a kiss to her cheek before leaving her to rest in peace.

* * *

><p>Bedros glanced at the two cards he was dealt, discreetly lifting the corners so he could see what he had. His outer expression was as blank as a clean sheet of paper, but on the inside he was frowning in disgust; bad hand. Then gently he placed the upside down card back down and then eyed the others at the table. Scotty had the worst poker face in the world, there was always a tiny shine in his green eyes when he got a good hand, a <em>really <em>good hand. Bedros was surprised that Heat, Wire and Matt hadn't noticed it yet, especially since they have known the man longer compared to the stone devil. But hey, he wasn't going to lose beli from it at least.

"I fold," the stone devil finally decided and slide the two cards back to Matt, the appointed dealer for the poker game.

Wire's brow rose and his eyes narrowed at the stone devil. "Third time in a row," he stated coolly, but the stone devil simply shrugged, but he pitied the man when he raised the bet after Matt laid the second card out in the middle. Wire didn't have a good hand, nothing compared to Scotty.

"So~…" Bedros sung out boredly as he waited for the two remaining players to get slaughtered by the true winner. "What are the plans for Raftel, Heat?"

The second mate looked to the stone devil and shrugged. "I don't have all the details yet. Kidd and Killer are going to discuss things first."

"Why aren't you there?" Bedros curiously asked.

"I wasn't asked." Heat answered shortly.

"Ouch." Bedros chuckled in amusement.

Heat rolled his eyes at the comment and he scoffed. "I'm not insulted in the least. It's not like I won't get the details yet. Plus its better if those two dish it out one on one."

That piqued the stone devils interest and his brows rose. "They're gonna duke it out?"

And to answer the stone devils question, there was a sudden crash that traveled through the walls and an angry shout that followed. Bedros felt a bead of sweat trickle down his cheek, and many more rolled down when he saw that the others were completely unaffected.

"Kidd is irrational whereas Killer isn't," was all Heat said, and the other nodded in agreement.

"Wow." Bedros propped his elbow up on the table and cradled his cheek in mild annoyance. "Tell me somethin' I don't know, will ya?"

"It's their method of coming to a decision." Matt said, his fingers hovering over the fourth card when Heat raised the pot once more. "As long as they don't kill each other than everything'll be fine," and then he pulled the finally card from the top of the deck and put it on display.

There was a devious sparkle in Scotty's eyes and he smirked with a wicked grin as he stood up and then slapped his hand down on the table for all to see. "Read it and weep, motherfuckers."

Heat growled at the lookout and glared at him while Wire threw his cards into the air and then jabbed a finger towards the stone devil.

"You know something," Wire bluntly declared. "You fucking _know_ something."

* * *

><p>Gabriella rubbed her eyes as she walked alongside Kidd, her hand clinging to his arm for support. The sun was just peeking over the horizon out at sea, the water reflecting the blend of orange of pink mixing in the sky. It was chilly; her skin clustered with goose bumps and the cold temperature didn't improve the bad mood she was in. She felt, not only physically, but also mentally exhausted and she wanted to sleep until midnight the next day.<p>

Too much happened within such a short time and she was felt heavier than a stone in water, but she could sleep later; this was important.

The plan conducted back at home with Mason and George wasn't the final thing; in Georges words, the plan was the rough draft. Until it was pitched to Calamity, then it wasn't set in stone. Apparently the rough draft wasn't good enough since Calamity had something else in mind. Though, the summoner mage wondered who the emissary was. They didn't have many allies due to her heritage.

The answer was probably in the back of her mind, but she was too tired to think about it.

"Here," Kidd suddenly stopped in front of a tiny café, the little shop closed for the night and the chairs of the outdoor tables all neatly placed on the surfaces within an iron cast fence with vines growing around the spokes.

_Cute_, was the first thing that came to mind, but she kept it to herself; she knew how Kidd felt about that word. So, she asked something plausible instead. "How do you know it's here?"

Kidd pointed towards one of the tables outside the café. "That," was all he said.

Gabriella blinked at him in confusion and then she glanced towards the direction he was pointing and there she saw a little white dove with glowing purple eyes and a bell tied around its neck perched on the fence. Déjà vu, the summoner mage was sure she saw this little birdie before, but lack of sleep was affecting her memory. Groaning, she messaged her throbbing temples; she wished she had coffee, but that would have been impossible.

"Hey," Kidd nudged her arm. "You okay, babe?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Gabriella grumbled, running her fingers through her hair. "Just felt a blast from the past. I think?"

"It is a blast from the past."

That was most definitely not Kidd; the high pitched voice of a woman came from behind them and they whirled around to see who it was.

Gabriella's eyes opened wide, her mind finally sober enough so the memories could surface. "It's you!"

Kidd glanced down at the summoner mage, his brow slightly arched. "You know her?" He inquired, and Gabriella nodded slowly.

"It has been awhile Roland," the mage bowed her head towards the two, her short ivory locks swaying to cover her crystal blue eyes. "Though this time it looks like you gained something whereas I'm missing it."

"I think you mean _someone_, Shelbie." Gabriella corrected with a small smile and glanced towards Kidd, the redhead staring at her in confusion. The summoner mage just smiled up fondly at him before looking back towards the conjurer. "So…where is your friend?"

"He is with the others," Shelbie replied, the mage reaching put a hand with a single finger points so that the tiny dove could land there comfortably. "It is all a part of the plan." She started to explain while petting the top of the dove's head with her fingertip. "We had to collect quite a large force for the upcoming fight."

"So you're the emissary," Gabriella figured that from the beginning. "And I'm guessing it's finally time to bring Copy Cat down once and for all."

"We need to leave in a few hours." Shelbie declared. "It will take a day to reach the rendezvous point."

"_Whoa._" Kidd cut it, hands up in the air to pause the conversation. "You can't leave. One thing at a time, damnit! Raftel is coming!"

* * *

><p>Kidd kicked the door to their room open wide; he was pissed. The smack of the door against the wall frightened the three dogs sleeping on his bed, the mutts whining in fear. Panicking, the dogs scurried away from the dangerous aura radiating from the captain that stormed into the room.<p>

"_Kidd!_" Gabriella pleaded with him, grabbing his arm to try and calm him down.

But Kidd wouldn't have it. His mood was bitter and he growled at her touch and ripped his arm from her grip.

It felt like all his feelings were cast to the side and thrown in a closet that was then locked so it was then forgotten. He wanted one thing, only one thing: Gabriella to stay at his side. After all the shit they went through and his girlfriend's terrible streak of bad luck, it should have been obvious _without_ him saying anything. He wanted to protect her—unlike the first time—in the battle against her moral enemy, Copy Cat. Also, he wanted her to be at his side at Raftel and when he rightfully earned the title of Pirate King. But, thanks to a certain devil motherfucker that decided to create an army within the Marines, that wasn't going to happen.

All he wanted was for her to be safe.

That's it.

Was that so hard?

Apparently it was.

Grumbling dark cursed under his breath, Kidd pinched his nose in silent fury; this was bullshit.

"Kidd…" Gabriella sighed, closing the door to give them a little bit more privacy since the redheads rampage had stirred the crew from slumber. "It's nothing to get this upset over."

"Fate's a bitch," Kidd ignored her and stayed on a one track mind set as he collapsed onto the bed, his face smothered against the pillow. "It really is," he grumbled, his voice muffled by the feathers.

Gabriella sighed again. "That's life," she shrugged, walking over and stood beside the bed, arms crossed over her chest. "If this is the only way I can kill Copy Cat than I'll take it."

_Bullshit_; Kidd still didn't like the set of choices served to them. It was most definitely not on a silver platter because if it was, things would have been simpler. Kidd would have Gabriella at his side on Raftel and Gabriella would have him when fighting Copy Cat. Instead, fate decided that their decision was invalid and gave them a different choice: separation.

_Bullshit_, it was pure bullshit.

His silence made the summoner mage sigh deeply and she flopped onto the bed and laid beside him. Snuggling under the extra fur of his coat, she curled up against his side, sharing warmth and comfort. "But if it makes you feel better, I don't like how it turned out either. I wished everything was how we planned it, but life had another idea for us."

Kidd groaned and rolled onto his back with a grunt. "I want to protect you," was all he had to say as he stared up at the ceiling. He felt like a broken record.

"You think I don't know that?" Gabriella replied, her fingers clinging to the crimson fabric of his shirt. "I couldn't even land a scratch on Copy Cat when I fought him the first time. I had a lot of help," then she paused, her hand trembling slightly and her grip tightening on his shirt. "I might seem calm on the outside, but inside I'm scared to death. I'm surprised that I haven't started hyperventilating yet. And knowing you there makes it worse. But this it just how it is, right?" She looked up at him with a weak smile. "I'm a big girl. I have to handle myself in battle sometimes. I know I can."

"_Hah,_" Kidd dryly laughed.

Gabriella's brows knitted together and she harshly slapped an open palm to his chest in offense. "When I'm prepared! That's like everyone. If you're not prepared then shit happens!"

Kidd eyed her curiously, rolling over so they were face to face. "Then keep your guard up," was his only piece of advice.

"But I have you to protect me," Gabriella teased with a sweet grin and kissed his nose tenderly.

Kidd blinked, but then he narrowed his eyes in mild annoyance and bluntly declared: "You're gonna give me a heart attack, woman."

"Not my intention," Gabriella giggled, wrapping her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his chest. "But seriously. I promise to keep my guard during this fight. Will that make you feel better when I'm away?"

"Not really," Kidd bluntly admitted and turned to face her. "But just this once, it'll be enough."

Gabriella smiled softly. "Good, 'cause we got a lot riding on this, babe."

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


	118. Chapter 115: Abandoned Outpost

Velonica14: I'm glad you liked the chapter. :) I had a bit of trouble with it...just like this one. T.T

Certified Chocoholic: Well, I can't help it if it's short, :\ Don't wanna force the creative flow...lol.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I just got the mad skills. Now I want to try and end the story with the first sentence of the first chapter. Talk about a mind-fuck. xD

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Yeah, we needed a little bit more of Bedros, Heat and Wire, and the other guys. They need some lovin' right? :)

4fireking: Thank you...?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 115: The Abandoned Outpost<p>

"You're nothing but a coward with pirate infested blood in your veins."

"I don't care."

"You should care Mister Novice Vice Admiral. God, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Like I swallowed soap whole."

"I do _not_ care."

"You're just stupid."

"Okay. Now you're acting like a child."

"Oh so now you care, pirate scum."

Johnathan's fists trembled with rage; why was Justice so annoying. The new Vice Admiral didn't deserve the title whatsoever. He wouldn't accept that he and a pirate pest were on the same level. There was no possible way that Justice could handle the pressure. Jonathan could tell the pirate pest was crumbling under the weight his father was handing out. The Admiral was tough, Jonathan knew that firsthand.

"Ah, Justice. Jonathan, there you two are."

Ah, speak of the devil. Johnathan turned to see his father approaching with the rumored new recruit, but something caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. Justice was acting strangely again, it was something Jonathan had noticed whenever Justice was within a five foot radius of his father. Jonathan felt out of the loop, and oddly enough, he felt worried about it. Though, it was never brought up for some reason…

"I want you to meet Conrad Ronal," The Admiral motioned to the crimson-suited man beside him with a hand. "The newest Vice Admiral and also member of the Division."

The name triggered his memory of that Marine. Conrad Ronal was an unknown foot solider for two years and then suddenly in only a few weeks he achieves the title of Vice Admiral. Conrad was well known for his many interviews with the press about his deeds and single handedly destroying crews with his devil fruit. Most devil fruit have been named or can be figured out due to its aura, but this devil fruit is one of a kind and extremely rare. Not even Vegapunk can even decipher what it is.

Some even think that it's not a devil fruit all together, but it can't be proven.

Though, he didn't care much; as long as pirates were being killed and brought to justice, then it didn't matter the method.

Conrad bowed his head towards the two. "Please. Take good care of me." he said with a tiny smirk and a mischievous gleam in his amber eyes when he looked back up at them. "Though I won't be at Headquarters long since I have a special mission to carry out soon."

Jonathan didn't like the look of that guy's smirk, it screamed arrogance and cockiness. This newbie better not get in his way; Exotic Scarlet was _his._

* * *

><p>Yellow and red rays from the rising sun over the horizon bathed the tiny outpost in a brilliant blend of orange stood at the foot of the dock, gazing up at the clouds passing by slowly with the gentle breeze. He had been on the Grand Line for years so seeing the ocean so peaceful was eerie, like it was the calm before the storm. Apart of him was waiting to see a Marine Warship appear out of nowhere or at least a Sea King break the water's surface to scare the living shit out of everyone. They were all on the edge, and they needed <em>something <em>to break the tension.

With a sigh, the scholarly mage turned away from the sunrise and walked back to the makeshift headquarters. The building crumbling to pieces and the roof completely gone; they had to prop up a tarp since it rained the other day, and outside the headquarters was none other than the necromancy councilman himself, Aldon.

Surprisingly enough, he was the one that contacted Calamity, not the other way around. It was an unexpected turn, but it happened nonetheless. Mortalitas was pulling out all the stops; George hoped that this didn't cause conflict with the Civil War.

As of now, nothing seemed amiss, therefore, nothing to worry about.

Aldon rested against the broken wall of the building, his hand glowing with his magic as his fingers moved to guide the tiny bone dragons in a circle.

George stopped before the necromancy councilman, arms stiffly crossed over his chest. He was still a bit wary of the man simple due to past, but they were on the same side for this battle. "Where's Calamity?" he calmly asked.

"She's inside," Aldon answered, his gaze never leaving the animations hovering above his palm. "She said not to disturb her. She's speaking with Mortalitas."

"I see." George replied with a nod. "And since we have the time," the scholarly mage then added quickly. "I have had something on my mind for a while now."

The councilman finally looked up, his brow arched in curiosity behind the veil of shadows cast by his hood. "And this had something to do with me, correct?"

"Yes," George responded firmly. "How did you get Rilon to agree to something like this, teaming up with former Council of Godsand also Gabriella, Caden's Heir?"

Aldon sighed deeply, clenching his fist so the dragons shattered back to dust, the fine grains pouring down his curled fingers. "You don't know him like I do," the councilman answered. "Sure he is strict with the rules and he doesn't go soft, but someone needs to be the bad guy or else there will be chaos. Though, that doesn't mean he's unreasonable. When there is the proper evidence, then he can make the decision according to the proof."

"_Mmm,_" George hummed in thought. "So, if he had the right proof than he would stop allowing assassins to attempt to take her life."

Aldon didn't appreciate the somewhat hostile tone in the scholarly summoner mage's voice, and the councilman stood up, standing his ground. "Grandmaster Rilon has nothing to do with that."

"Yet he does nothing to stop it," George countered roughly.

"He can't stop something when he doesn't know when it's happening." Aldon snapped.

"You know exactly who it is," George coldly stated, the glare behind his glasses boring into the soul of the councilman.

Aldon turned away sharply, biting his lip bitterly at the comment. "You're right." He admitted, biting on the words as if they were sour lemons. "We can't do anything. Our hands are tied due to class and money. Nothing can be pinned against him because of money and even if there was positive proof, class stops any investigation."

"So there's nothing you can do." George summed up the facts.

"No…" Aldon trailed off with a sigh, but then his dark eyes flicked, a thought occurring in the back of his mind. "Though…from what I heard from Aichki, then maybe she won't be attacked as much. Maybe never again."

George's eyes opened wide with shock. "What do you mean by that?!"

Aldon opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Calamity returned from her chat with Mortalitas.

"Sorry for the wait," the minor deity apologized politely, bowing her head to the two. "It took longer than I thought. Though, now we can continue with the tactics for the plan. Where did we leave off? A week before 'Conrad Ronald' leaves for his special at the Ruby Riece Base, correct?" She would have continued, but she noticed the tension in the air, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Did I…interrupt something?"

_Yes_, was what George wanted to say, but when he looked at the bigger picture the conversation could wait until after the preparations for battle were finished. "No," George shook his head. "We can come back to it later."

Aldon nodded in agreement. "And yes, Conrad Ronald, or rather Copy Cat will be a Ruby Riece Base within the week," then he moved away from the wall and walked into the makeshift headquarters. "Though, we don't know what working with the Marines will do. Is he really doing this for Aichki's mask?"

"Masks are important to power," George explained. "Most people think it's just a trophy to his crimes, but there's actually a meaning behind it all."

"He's leeching off the power source of the masks," Aldon summed it all up. "Now that I see how Copy Cat method firsthand, there are many cases that are exactly the same as this one from the past. There were always hints to devil activity, but we could never prove it."

"Which lead you to putting blame on the victim," George stated coldly.

"They are a victim, but they are also at fault," Calamity interjected. "They caved into temptation, which was something they could have turned away from. True, it is difficult, but it can be done."

"We are all at fault for this," Aldon sighed deeply. "The Council of present and past, I mean. There will be many apologizes to come in the future, but that aside, there is still one question left unanswered." Then the councilman looked between the two surrounding the small table filled with charts and notes. "What is Copy Cat's true goal?"

George glanced towards Calamity, waiting for her reply.

The summoning deity softly sighed. "Power. That is all he strides for."

* * *

><p>Gabriella leaned over a pack of scrubs and threw up her stomach; the bile burned her throat and she gasped for air. She hated being sick. Her skin felt like an oily patch of sweat and her hair was a greasy mess, no matter how many showers she took. That was only on the outside though, the aches and pains throbbing on the inside was a complete different story. This was probably the worst scenario to be in. At least she had a week to get over her ailment, but she had a feeling deep down in her gut that it wouldn't. Maybe she could talk with that healer for a remedy, or even the enchantress for a little aid to mask the pain.<p>

It wasn't like it had to disappear forever—because she knew damn well that it wouldn't—she just needed to be focused for the battle with Copy Cat. She had to concentrate when she fought that devil or else things would take a turn for the worst.

She'd never forgive herself if something happened.

"Gabs…" Madeline broke the summoner mage's train of thought, the thin summoner mage placing a hand on the ginger's shoulder. "Still not feeling better?"

Gabriella smiled weakly. "I'm fine don't worry," and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Madeline then whacked her upside the head and hissed: "Bullshit, and you know I know that!"

Gabriella cringed, rubbing the bump blooming on the back of her head. "Mads…" the summoner mage whispered, leaning towards the thin summoner mage. "Let's not talk 'bout this when people are eavesdropping."

Madeline glanced to the side from corner of her eyes, seeing that her brother and the stone devil were standing suspiciously to the side, eyeing them with curious gazes. "Hmph," the thin summoner mage scoffed,then she stuffed her hand into her pocket to pull out a tiny purple velvet pouch. "Mint-tin Root. Your breath stinks."

Gabriella scoffed, but she willingly took the pouch and opened it up so she could plop the root into her mouth. It still had that minty aftertaste in the back of her throat, the root seeming to melt against her tongue, but it was refreshing nonetheless.

"Hey Abbie, you okay?"

The summoner mage turned her attention to the stone devil that walked towards her with Mason in tow. Then, her brow arched when she noticed the meat head of a summoner hiding behind Bedros, staring at her intently. "Peachy," she replied slowly, chewing the minty root softly, and then she looked to Mason. "The question should be if you are okay."

"Hmm," Mason hummed, his eyes narrowing in concern. "How sick are you?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'm not sick."

"Lies," Bedros bluntly declared.

"I'm not contagious." Gabriella corrected, annoyance sharp on her tongue.

"Oh good," Mason sighed in relief and swiped the back of his hand across his brow. "I've been wantin' to give you a hug for ages, but I didn't know if you were sick or not," then he chuckled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't want to get sick 'cause I can't protect you in the final battle n' all."

"Ya know…" Bedros clicked his tongue in thought. "She's gonna fight him alone."

"Shuddup!" Mason snapped, whacking the stone devil upside the head.

Gabriella shook her head at the two bickering back and forth and just left; she was too tired to deal with all the fighting.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Madeline asked, quick to follow after the summoner mage. "Gonna take nap?"

"Yeah," Gabriella sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair. "I know I should be preparing, but I'm just so sleepy."

"Sleep is a good way to prepare," Madeline grinned. "You gotta get home safely to Kidd or he'll blow a casket," and then with a wink, the thin summoner mage nudged her in the side.

"Kidd's probably gonna blow a casket even if I come back in one piece." Gabriella glared at the thin summoner mage.

"Well…" Madeline scratched the side of her cheek in thought. "Your Dad'll be happy at least, right?"

* * *

><p>Missus Roland stared at her husband, eyeing the disturbingly large grin on his lips. He hummed blissfully as he chopped the carrots for their supper, and Missus Roland was worried her husband might hack off his finger.<p>

"Jacoby…" she finally spoke up, placing a hand over his to stop the erratic cutting of veggies. "Is something wrong, dear?"

Jacoby suddenly snapped back to reality, his idyllically mood melting to confusion as he looked around the kitchen with knitted brows. "Hmm…" he hummed with pursed lips. "I don't know, Missy," he admitted bluntly. "But I just have a strange feeling in my gut that I should be ecstatic."

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


	119. Chapter 116: The Battlefield

**So, I don't know if this has happened to you on FF...but apparently when you upload documents into Doc Manager...words will be cut out. I has happened to me multiple times with both Bones and His Heir. My poor betas. T.T I thought I found a way around it by uploading the documents and then copy and pasting it from word to the edit browser, but apparently that didn't work all too well. So, it there are mistakes...please excuse them. I think most of them will be caused by the exchange of documents, while the others are human error. Sorry about this.**

Kiteria: Oh. Some people will connect the dots...

Shinigami-Kira-1917: Lol, I actually been pumping out TONS of foreshadowing...about what? Oh, you will have to see...hehe.

Certified Chocoholic: Yeah, but this chapter is nice and long. I really pushed myself here. xD

Alpenwolf: Hmm...*whistles and walks away*

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: All your questions will be answered in this chapter, or the Bones chapter. Which ever you read first.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Copy Cat was very clever...too bad...well, you know.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 116: The Battlefield<p>

Gabriella groaned, leaning all her weight atop of Madeline as the two sat on deck of the Wolverine Skull Pirate's ship, their backs against thick wooden beams. Gabriella held her stomach, her arms folded across the sore skin, and her brows twitched in pain; she felt like she was going to die.

"Did the enchantment already wear off?" Mason asked, the muscular summoner mage crouching down to gently place a hand to the ginger's forehead.

Though Madeline was quick to slap her brother's hand away then wag a finger at him. "No touching," she scolded firmly.

"Hey!" Mason snapped in offense. "I wasn't doin' anything bad!"

"Liar!" Madeline barked back, and eyed him narrowly. "I know you better than anyone."

Mason rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I can actually be mature," he countered as he plopped down to sit upon the deck with his fellow summoner mages, then he glared at his sister. "Unlike you."

"Liar!" Madeline repeated just as harshly and jabbed a finger towards him. "I can tell you're just itching to tackle her when she is vulnerable! You sick sly bastard! I can see it in your eyes!"

Mason flinched at the insult and, accusation a guilty look in his dark eyes. "S—shut up Maddie!" he yelped, his cheeks a bright pink. "I ain't a sick sly bastard! I'm just in love! Ain't nothing wrong 'bout it!"

"But it's gross the way you do it!" Madeline continued the verbal attack.

"You're the one to talk!" Mason slashed back. "You're the exact same with George!"

The scholarly summoner mage who was standing quietly on the side lines grumbled in mild annoyance. "Don't drag me into this."

"I don't even like George anymore!" Madeline countered roughly in defense. "I have a boyfriend!"

"Killer ain't your boyfriend!" Mason was able to deduct quickly.

Gabriella was fed up. In fact, she was annoyed with the high-pitched screaming match a while ago, she just didn't say anything because she felt sick. But now, she was at the end of her rope and the fuse had fizzled out. "All of you shut up." She coldly commanded, her tone threatening and dark.

Madeline and Mason flinched at the summoner mage's voice, and then they hung their heads in defeat, silencing their petty arguments.

George shook his head with a sigh. "Would you like me to get the enchantress?"

"Yes please…" Gabriella murmured softly as she buried her face further into Madeline's shoulder.

The scholarly mage did what he said he would and left the group in search for the enchantress known as Mini. Gabriella could only lay in wait, the silence around her slowly picking up as soon as Bedros joined the group, striking up conversation between Mason and Madeline. The summoner mage tried to tune them out, but when Bedros continually jabbed insults into Mason's eyes, another argument bubbled to the surface.

She was sick and moody, therefore she got a little…violent.

"By Mortalitas…what did you do to him?" A new voice entered the scene.

The stone devil was knocked out cold on the floor of the deck, a glowing red footprint on his cheek along with a tiny cut on his flesh.

"You…!" Madeline gasped in shock when she looked up at not just one newcomer, but two. "It's the old man and whore!"

"I'm not a whore!" the accused prostitute seethed. "I have a name and it's Hebe!"

"Oh. I knew that."

"Then why are you acting like you didn't!" Hebe snapped bitterly.

Gabriella slowly opened her eyes into a narrow glare, her golden irises sharp with rage. "Shut up." She growled before closing her lids once more.

"…What's wrong with her?" Vulcan questioned calmly, keeping his voice down to respect the summoner mage's wishes.

"Err…" Madeline scratched the side of her cheek sheepishly. "Well~…"

The men present didn't understand the hesitance, but Hebe got it like a brick thrown to her face.

Hebe's jaw dropped and her eyes were wide like saucers. "You're joking, right?" she bluntly asked. "She's—"

"_**Ah-LALALALALALALALALALALA!**_" Madeline shrieked, which made Gabriella cringe in pain. Then the thin summoner mage covered her ears. "_I can't hear you, I can't hear you!_"

Hebe picked up on the not so subtle hint and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Whatever," she scoffed.

"…Anyway…" Mason slowly said, glancing up at the two senior mages curiously. "What are you two doing here?"

"Jafar told us to." Vulcan answered simply, his gaze cast to the ground with a serious expression on his face. "He is one hundred percent positive that Genie will be there."

* * *

><p>Ruby Riece Base. The towers of marine camouflage were barely hidden by a heavy smog that reeked of sulfur and, the summoner mage scrunched her nose at the terrible stench, a hand over her mouth and nose to block smell. It was good the enchantress placed an aid spell upon her or else she would be hurling chucks overboard right now. Though, the distraction was welcome considering this was merely the calm before the storm; the hurricane was approaching rapidly.<p>

As soon as they docked, the plan would get under way. Their—as in hers and Ameria—main goal was to find Copy Cat, by order of Mortalitas. She knew her part of the deal, it had to do with unfinished business with the devil, courtesy of the Demon there was Ameria who had a less complex reason: clean up her mess, strict, but fair, and the bone mage understood that wholeheartedly.

Then the rest of them; they were under crowd control. Calamity and Sane knew Copy Cat, and they were positive that the devil possessed the Marines at the base. They needed to distract the hollow shells so that the two mages could make it to Copy Cat. But, they were not to kill the Marines; it would case a lot of problems for RC if they did. Hopefully once the Marines were unpossessed by the power of the devil, they would forget everything and blame their amnesia on a pirate crew that could erase memories.

Gabriella sighed deeply, though she took heed not to inhale too sharply; tonight everything would be over. She even started to feel the weights atop her shoulder lose grip and begin slipping off. Rubbing her bare shoulder, she subconsciously started to smile. The Council knew the truth now, maybe…maybe now her family would finally be free.

Then suddenly she snapped away from her inner thoughts when she heard a sharp exhale from her side. Glancing over, she saw one of the Fort Lock mages—Justin, she believed his name was—hurriedly turn his head away from her. The summoner mage quirked a brow; she had a feeling it wasn't her he was looking, so taking a gander to the opposing side, she saw that Ameria had walked out from the captain's quarters and joined her master and the councilman.

Hmm, Gabriella looked between the two with furrowed brows, and then her eyes locked onto the sheepish man beside her. Then, she curiously asked. "You have a thing for Ameria?"

Justin flinched when he heard the questioned and he whirled around to face her, his cheeks blistering a bright shade of pinks. "It's…It's that noticeable…?"

"Painfully," Gabriella bluntly admitted.

Justin hung his head low, his shoulders dropping as he sighed deeply. "Even when I try to avoid her, it still comes through."

"You know she has a boyfriend, right?" Gabriella pointed out simply.

Justin just sighed again. "And I used to be her boyfriend."

Gabriella blinked in shock; she couldn't help but feel a little shock, but then again she didn't know much of the bone mage's past to begin with. "Why'd you two break up?"

"…" Justin was silent for a moment, biting his lips gentle, his brows furrowed deep in thought. "It…was around the time she started to change. Now that we know the full truth, I see that the change was due to Copy Cat."

Gabriella frowned sadly. "Copy Cat tore your relationship apart."

Justin shook his head, a heavy grimace on his lips that matched the look in his eyes. "No. It was still my fault. I…broke up with her."

"Because of the change Copy Cat brought upon her," Gabriella corrected, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can hardly say that's your fault."

Again, Justin shook his head. "It…wasn't because of him…" he trailed off and he glanced over to another mage, the woman dress in pure white robes and her icy blue hair tied up into a high bun to showcase the permanent scowl on her face, a scowl directed towards the bone mage.

Gabriella didn't need to be in the loop to know that the white robes didn't make the mage a pure person. "You were influenced," Gabriella scoffed in disappointment. "That's pathetic."

The words hit him hard in the heart and Justin's head hung like a limp noodle once again. "I'm aware of that, but I was too late to fix it since she left the island almost right after that. Then, it was really too late when I saw she had a new boyfriend…but he's a pirate!" he yelped in distress.

Gabriella quirked a brow in confusion and placed her hands on her hips. "So? My boyfriend's a pirate too."

"B—b—but…" Justin stuttered. "He might hurt her…"

"Doubt it," Gabriella disagreed. "Plus, I'm guessing you hurt her, too, right?"

Justin opened his mouth to defend himself in a feeble attempt, but his weak voice was drowned out by the rumble of a madman.

"_**NOW!**_" The roar of Sane rang from the crow's nest, the necromancy deity leaping from the perch to land on the deck with a mighty thump as his feet hit the wood. "_We leave now!_" he repeated firmly, his fists trembling with his bent-up rage. Then he jabbed his finger to the second deck were the first mate of the Wolverine Skull stood waiting. "_Get this ship moving;** now!**_" he bellowed the command.

Nuadha hastily saluted the necromancy deity, an anxious look on his pale and sweaty face. "Y—Yes Sir!" He shouted back and then hurriedly went to the wheel and then began order the crew to hoist the anchor and unfurl the sails.

The galleon creaked through the gentle grimy colored waves, the outer walls of the base shifting with movement, the stones slowly sliding into the background. Silently, the ship reached the eerily silent dock. There was not a soul in sight, the Marines probably already under the devil's spell and walking around the base's inner courtyard like zombies during the apocalypse.

The gangplank was dropped and the rag-tag bunch of mages, assassins and pirates stepped foot onto land, mentally getting ready for the battle of their lives.

_Click, click, click._

The lone sound came from the fog, which made the large group stiffened, expecting their first enemy was approaching. They figured it a high ranking Marine sent by Copy Cat to try and, stop them with their mystic devil fruit power, but the silhouette of man looked nothing like a Marine. And, once the mystery was revealed, they saw that it nothing but a man in top hat following…a butterfly.

Gabriella eyes opened wide; it was_ him._

"Good," Sane sighed in relief. "He was dumb enough to fall for that stupid spell."

The gentleman spirit flinched, stopping in his tracks when he heard the insult and wrinkled his nose to shake his mustache in offense. "That, dear father, is not a compassionate comment to mutter to your eldest son." He polite countered.

Ameria perked up and stepped out from behind her father—the assassin master had instinctively shielded her—and said: "You're Bás Ar Uasal, aren't you?"

The eldest of the spirit siblings nodded and then tipped his hat towards the bone mage and they had exchanged a few words before Sane growled in annoyance. It was obvious the necromancy deity was impatient and roughly, he grabbed the summoner mage's wrist and marched forward. "Enough of this," the necromancy deity snapped. "Ameria," and he placed his free hand on her shoulder since the other held Gabriella's wrist captive. "I'm going to guide you two. I have a bad feeling about something."

Ameria and Gabriella merely nodded towards the necromancy deity, completely silent and asked not a question as the rushed after Sane.

Sinclair was quick to follow on their heels. "What about my housing quarters?" the gentleman spirit wondered aloud. "Shall I get a vessel as well?"

In response, Sane chucked a skull at his eldest son and in a swirl of black mist, the gentleman spirit was sucked into the hollow vessel. Then, the skull snapped back to the deity's hand and then he shoved it towards the bone mage.

Without another word, Sane continued on his way, the stiff muscles of his back ushering the two mages to follow suit. They ran through the back alleys of the base, the sounds of battle close in the background until they faded once they entered the tallest tower of the base. As the three rushed the giant spiral staircase, the summoner mage glanced outside at each passing window and hoped everyone would be okay. Then, she placed a hand on her stomach while she sprinted, her fingernails gently scratching the surface of her skin. And, for herself, she prayed that the enchantress's aid spell didn't wear off in the middle of battle.

Copy Cat would take full advantage of that situation.

She bit her lip and ripped her hand away from her stomach as she forced her feet to press on even farther, but when they reached a brief landing, Sane stopped them both, all of them sliding to a pause.

Sane inhaled and exhaled sharply through his nostrils as he scanned the dark area through the holes of his mask. "_She's here,_" he stated coldly, the tension of his muscles tightening to the constancy of titanium.

Ameria brow's furrowed. "Who…?" she questioned softly, a small crack in her voice.

"Genie." Gabriella answered sourly. "I met her once," and her finger brushed against the golden ring on her pinky.

Lurking in the shadows, the deity of lost magic was hiding ready to kill, for she was embodiment of death itself. There was a cackling, a cracked giggle in the darkness that echoed off the walls. Through the veil of blackness of the silhouette of pale skin and blood, the smell of iron coming off thick from the being.

"_Thy love, thy love,_" the voice of a woman whispered, the sound coming from the image coming closer and closer. The sloshing of something sticky against the floor grew louder, and as the image emerge from the shadows, a trail of crimson footprints followed in her wait. "_Thou came for me._"

Genie giggled with a sweet smile on her lips, but a dead and distant look in her dark eyes. Her pale skin was covered in blotches of blood and her ebony robes were soaked to the bone, the foul smell of iron piercing the air around them; it was toxic.

Ameria gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "What…what did she do?"

Sane ignored the bone mage's question, his eyes focused completely on the corrupted deity, though he spoke to the summoner mage behind him. "Gabriella. Take Ameria and go."

Gabriella gasped lightly in shock. "What? Are you sure?"

"_Go._" Sane left no room for argument.

Against her better judgment, the summoner mage did what she was asked. She grabbed Ameria by the wrist and she dragged the bone mage off to safety. Genie didn't bother with the two, for she only wanted to kill one person.

"_Thy love comes midst the storm,_" Genie sighed softly, hand upon her chest. "_The throb of my heart strikes against my bosom._"

"_Silence,_" Sane barked as the corrupt deity and then he jabbed a finger directly towards. "And stop speaking of love! We aren't lovers anymore!" he pointed out harshly, glowering at her bitterly. "…Since all you want to do is kill me."

"_Thou art indeed correct,_" Genie sweetly smiled.

Sane growled, fists clenched tightly at his sides. "Too bad it's going to be you, not me," and then he charged.

Energy was concentrated in the palm of his hand and he rushed the orb of power, aiming right for the corrupt deity's heart, but nothing is ever that easy. Genie dodged, her bloody footprints decorating the stone tiled floor, and she giggled giddily the entire time. She was graceful, as if she was a dancer in a ballet, but she was the Black Swan of the performance.

With a dry laugh fluttering past her pale lips stained in blood, she slashed out her counterattack, the blank sweet expression on her face warping to something twisted and evil. She shrieked like a banshee, like Bloody Mary herself, and brought back a hand baring razor sharp claws. Sane snarled and moved back to avoid, but he felt her talons sink into the stone of his mask.

He flinched and quickened his pace slipped out before his mask broke to pieces. On the skin of his cheeks he felt the scorching sting caused by the tip of the corrupt deity's claws that managed to cling to his flesh. He growled at the wounds, the poison of her magic seeping into his pores.

Damn, he cursed angrily within his mind as his hand placed pressure upon the injuries.

"_Oh, I how durth to gander upon thy face one last time…_" Genie sighed lovingly, swooning at the sight of Sane mask-less. "_Though, I always wonder of the metal sphere thou hast in thy nose…_"

Sane subconsciously placed a hand on his nose, his fingers brushing against the tiny piercing right above his nostril. It held meaning, but he didn't speak of it; it was too much to bare. Rage from the memories fueled his power and he trembled with power, power that even effected the corrupt deity. Genie slinked back at the power, and power that he hide from the world; only Copy Cat felt the wrath of his true power.

He let out a roar of fury, screeching at the top of his lungs. Wisps of black magic sprang from his form, orbs of violet and grey sparking out like bombs. The magic clung to his limbs, turning into solid metal. The ebony suit of armor radiated with power that even made Death herself quiver in fear.

The corrupt deity was frozen, rooted in place, and Sane used the opening for an attack. He charged, the iron fingers of his gauntlet gleaming dangerously in what little light illuminated the space. There was the slash of metal against flesh. A bang of magic bursting to make bones break. The splash of fresh red against the floor. The scream of agony resonated against the walls.

Sane pulled back his hand, blood dripping from the metal fingers of his covered hand and Genie staggered. She clutched her chest, trying to cover the gapping hole that was where he heart formerly was. Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated and shaking violently at the mortal wound stealing her life away.

Then Genie collapsed to the ground, her breath fading from her withering body, and with the last of her strength, she whispered. "_Thou…thou can…cannot kill me…_" she coughed through the blood trickling down the corner of her lips. "_The balance…the balance cannot be broken._"

Sane wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, sighing heavily. "It won't be broken…" he countered, not a drop of emotion in his voice or expression. "Lin will take your place, the rightful heir to Oblivion Magic."

* * *

><p>Ameria and Gabriella skidded to a halt as they reached the top of the tower. The circular room was illuminated with a dark crimson red cast by red orbs hovering throughout, in the center of it all stood one Conrad Ronald, the newest Vice Admiral among the Marines and, member of the Mage Recruiting Division.<p>

Copy Cat was a sly one; that he was.

The possessed Marine never moved an inch from his lounged position in his seat, his heels resting against the desk's tabletop and ankles crossed. He chuckled, his folded arms bouncing slightly with the movement of his chest. Then he looked up, a sharp gleam of bloodlust in his red eyes.

"Welcome, ladies," he mused with a sneer upon his lips. "Though, I should also mention the gentlemen, for I do not want to be rude," and he looked towards the three vessels that houses Bas, Fabian, and Sinclair on the bone mage's belt.

"Cut the chivalry crap!" Gabriella barked, shaking a fist towards the devil as her free hand instantly went to the hilt of her belt.

The possessed Marine let out an amused laugh as he slowly retracted from his relaxed pose and sat normally in the seat. "Heh," he grunted with a smug grin while propping his elbows atop the desk and weaved his pale fingers together. "Very well, Little Roland," the devil cooed and rested his chin onto his fingers. "Besides, I have no business with you. You are only loose ends I need to clean up.

Gabriella's brow twitch and a vein of fury pulsed from her skin. "What'd you say, bastard!" She snarled venomously.

The poisonous tone didn't threaten the devil in the slightest and he looked towards the bone mage with a million beli smirk. "Where's your master, Little One?" he curtly asked, standing up from his seat slowly. "I think he has something of mine…" he trailed off, reaching into the pocket of his pristine crimson suit and pulled out a tiny fragment of plated gold.

Ameria's eyes opened wide and her heart thumped sharply against her chest. "The last piece of Master's mask…" she whispered quietly, her body shaking lightly; he had it all along.

The devil grunted, waving the mask piece gently between his fingers. "_My_ mask," he corrected shortly. "And I'd like the other pieces now. I wish to complete my puzzle."

Ameria clenched her fingers, fists trembling at her sides and she ground her teeth together. Through her locked jaw, she hissed. "Let's get 'im," and she swiftly stepped into a battle stance, her hands glowing in flames of grey.

Gabriella's grip on her blade tightened until her tan knuckles turned a pale white and her free hand engulfed into a shimmer of gold. "'Bout time," she grumbled.

The devil sneered wickedly at the two and held out a hand to usher a single finger towards them. "Then have at it," he challenged darkly, his power radiating from his body in deadly scarlet wisps.

Ameria exchanged a quick glance with the summoner mage, earning a nod which the bone mage returned before darting off into battle. Her hands filled with magic, dust spirals whisked around the room, bones forming and connecting joints with others until a sea of animations filled the gap between her and, the desk that barely shielded the possessed Marine from sight. Bone creations of all sizes and shapes stood at the ready to defend their master, the animations groaning with rage in an eerie chorus as they prepared for battle.

He laughed at the sight. "You have gotten stronger," he admitted, but the hint of impression was void in his eyes. "Of course, we all know it isn't enough. It never is, Little One," then he sprang forward.

The animations, though determined, couldn't hold against the devil of such power, even when he was still in the body of his host. The bones were cut like minced meat, reverting back to nothing but dust as the razor sharp claws of the devil. But it was like a vicious cycle. When one went down, two took its place. It was as if the many heads of a hydra soul was burning in these living skeletons. Or the bone mage had truly gotten more powerful in the three-year gap.

This was not something Copy Cat anticipated; it was like an annoying cockroach instead of a fly; it just wouldn't lay down and die. He growled in annoyance at the thought.

But, take out the queen and the servants would halt, and with a sharp twist of his heel, he changed his direction and charged the bone mage. But something was wrong, and his eyes opened wide when he saw the reason.

The summoner mage had vanished in a puff of smoke, or rather portal.

It was too late when he came to the realization, and as he turned his head when he heard the familiar sound of the unzippering vortex behind him, he saw the summoner mage with blade drawn.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he narrowly avoided the blade's sharp edge, the metal cutting into the flesh of his host's cheek and he leaped away as far as he could from the murderous aura that was almost as deadly as the blade.

He couldn't believe it; he was outsmarted so easily. It was because he was in the body of a fool. Yes, that is the only reason why he let his guard down ever so slightly.

"Didn't you ever learn that cockiness leads to a man's downfall," Gabriella mocked, the summoner mage gripping the hilt of her blade with both hands, the tip glaring in the red light as she pointed it towards the devil.

"Heh," the devil regained his composure quickly, so not to reveal he was trouble by the brief advantage. "Too bad I'm not really a man," the possessed Marine countered as he held his arms out wide. "It's only on the outside."

Gabriella smirked. "_Che,_" she scoffed. "You're exactly right."

The devil's brows furrowed in confusion, but then his senses picked up on something behind him and he whirled around. A hand rammed to his chest, the clenched fist holding a chain of wooden beads, and the owner of that hand looked up at him with piercing blue eyes before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"_I banish thee!_"

"_**NO!**_" The devil roared, feeling the power of the exorcism beads rip him forcible from the skin of his host, his body turning to nothing but golden goo at the base of the Marine's feet. And then Conrad Ronald collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Copy Cat was seething in rage, the puddle of gold he had become boiling just like his blood. What was happening? He didn't know, but it reeked of Mortalitas now. That god thought of everything, didn't he, but it wasn't good enough. Just because he couldn't foresee everything like before, didn't mean he couldn't stop it; like the summoner's blade that was aimed to stab him at his weakest.

He mustered up his power, and with all his strength he dodge the blade and darted away to the other side of the room. Quickly, he pulled himself together, literally. His true form shot up out of the gold puddle and staggered slightly at the sudden change of being out in the open.

"This is far from over," he hissed at them through sharp teeth and held out his arm. "You will need more than Mortalitas's parlor tricks," and from his outstretched hand, a single drop of liquid gold dropped to the ground and a clone was born.

The two Copy Cats stood side by side, smirking smugly towards the mages and in unison, they said: "Let's make this even, shall we."

"Yes, let's make this playing field even," Gabriella glared at the devil as she reached into the pack attached to the back of her belt. "I believe I can handle this on my own," and then she wiped out the Demon Claw and flung it towards one of the devil's clones.

The summoner mage held firm to the chain, the claw digging into the clone's clothing and flesh and shoving him through the wall. The momentum jerked her forwards, walls crumbling under the pressure of the devil and then they landed in another building entirely.

Gabriella stood up quickly, wasting no time in the rumble so the devil couldn't attack while her guard was down. Feet firmly planted on the ground, she pulled back the demon claw and then pulled out her Ohdan's blade.

_For you_, she thought as she held the hilt firmly in her grasp, then screamed: "_Caden's Demonic Blade!_" and she summoned all the ancient devils captured by her Ohdan, the six standing at her side. They were restless, anxious to battle with the devil that caused trouble in the hells for centuries.

"_Heh,_" Copy Cat staggering to his feet, wiping the soot from his with the back of his hand. "Now this isn't very even like you said it would be, Little Roland. Shall I make the playing field even?" and then he flicked his wrists, more gold liquid flung to the flood littered with rumble, then from the puddles came two more clones, smirking and eager for blood.

* * *

><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


	120. Chapter 117: Fight with a Cat

**Okay, something is wrong with the Doc Manager thing on FF. Why, you may ask? Because huge chucks of my story get cut and it's driving me and my poor betas (bless their souls) up the wall. I'm _this_ close to pulling my hair out, especially with this chapter of His Heir and Bones. Why, you may ask again? Well, I went full out on the fight scenes (though I don't know if they are any good considering I _suck_ at fight scenes) in these chapters due to the fact that this is the second to last chapter of each story. Yes, that means there is only one more chapter of His Heir and Bones. So, if you have any pressing questions, comments or concerns (well, too late for concerns now...) then let me know because it's your last chance~**

Hitoshirezu Ryu: She's actually pretty much on her own...sorta?

Alpenwolf: Yes, Genie is deader than a doorknob. :p

Certified Chocoholic: Her period...haha...ha...ha...*runs away*

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: No it was not bad that you thought of Pokemon considering that it what I was going for. Ameria caught 'em all! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

* * *

><p>Chapter 117: Fight with a Cat<p>

The storm was wild, dangerously wild.

The rain came down like bullets that bruised the exposed skin of him and his crew, and the wind was sharp enough to cut flesh wide open. Lightning cracked the surface of the sea right by the unstable galleon among the waves and drenched in rain. It made the roaring waves even more hazardous with streams of pulsing electricity. Thunder boomed in the distance, lighting the blustery, angry clouds that blocked out all sunlight. The waves grew stronger and taller, crashing onto the deck and soaking everything in sight. The wood was slick with water, the slippery surface and the rocky footing made his crew trip and fall constantly adding more to injury.

Kidd was at the helm, barking orders to his men as he held firmly to the wheel. Water in the fur of his thick red coat weighed him down, and his crimson locks whipped against his cheeks. His lips were numb from the salt water, the chill turning them pale blue, but he ignored it all. The pull of the ocean's rough currents were aggressive and he struggled with keeping his balance under control; he was in danger of being knocked into sea by the waves.

"_Kidd!_" Killer roared over the howling wind, the masked blonde clinging to the quarter deck's railing until his knuckles turned white. His long blonde locks were sopping wet along with his clothing, the loose fabric and hair flapping in the rough winds. Ignoring the sharp sting of his hair against the exposed skin of his arms. "_Get the fuck inside! You'll go overboard!_"

Kidd sneered at his first mate, a dangerous look gleaming in his amber eyes behind the blue tinted glass of his goggles. "_No way in hell!_" He screamed back at the top of his lungs, laughter bubbling up in the back of his throat. "_I'm gonna be here until the end! That's what the future King's gotta do!_"

"_It will be for naught if you drown, you fucking ginger!_" Killer countered sharply, and at that exact moment, a large wave collided with the deck. The water crashed upon their forms and drenched them to the bone. Though the mask covered his expression, Kidd knew Killer was scowling with intense fury. "_Now get inside until this storm calms down!_" He commanded once more.

"_It hasn't calmed down since we came here, you fucking pansy!_" Kidd snapped back harshly. "_It's been like this for six days, Killer! **Six** days!_"

"_There have been breaks in the storm, Kidd!_" Killer argued, the words sharp on his tongue and he slammed the side of his fist against the railing. "_And you know it! You slept like a log for five hours. You were considered clinically dead until I had to wake your ass up by dragging you out of bed by the ankle!_"

"_I didn't appreciate that!_" Kidd retorted angrily at the memories resurfacing to the top of his mind. "_And remember why the fuck you had to wake me up? Let me remind you,_" he mocked, a jeering sneer on his lips. "_**Sea, fucking, King!**_"

"_It was a little one!_" Killer scoffed in annoyance, the muscles of his arm visibly tensing.

"_That nearly took out the main mast!_" Kidd motioned towards the wood still scarred with teeth marks caused by sea monster the day before.

"_A Sea King is different anyway!_" Killer tried to cast the current conversation aside and get back on track.

"Really, huh?" Sarcasm was thick in his voice as Kidd mocked his first mate once more. "They both can 'kill' me!"

"_You can win against a Sea King, moron!_" Killer blatantly admitted and he went so far as to whack Kidd upside the head due to shear irritation. "_You'll always lose against the sea, you fucking ginger!_"

Kidd growled, looking away sharply. Damn that blonde pansy. They went through many a storm before and never before had Killer had a hissy fit about him being out on deck. Sure, this was the Wilds of Raftel, but that didn't change anything considering what they had seen on Grand Line. It had come to the point where the unpredictable became normal and they knew how to handle anything the mysterious waters could throw at them, even sailing within the New World. Even the Sea Kings sightings and battles happened weekly. It was something they got used to.

Though the Wilds of Raftel were a completely different story, that much is true, but there was a thrill in it. The danger and unexpected turn of events, something that needed to be solved and fought, and most importantly, the reward of treasure and riches after the end of any journey. Then it started all over again like a vicious cycle. That is what made an adventure. Killer should know that best of all since the masked blonde should have the same opinion on the matter as he did.

"_Now get inside, Kidd!_" Killer shouted again, though he was only shouting over the wind; he had calmed quite a bit. "_I'm not doing this to be a bitch! I just don't want you to die after we've come this far!_"

Kidd flat out laughed at the masked blonde, not the he didn't appreciate the thought, but… "_A little water ain't gonna bring me down!_" He roared with a grin, even as the waves constantly slammed against him, his men and his ship. "_I said it once, I'll say it again: I'm gonna go all the way to the finish line!_"

Killer was silent for a moment, contemplating to himself before he spoke up again. "Would Gabriella want you to risk it like this?"

Kidd could barely even hear what his first mate, but the words hit a cord, making him frown deeply at the thought. But he didn't ponder over it, shaking his head to cast off negative thoughts. "Who knows?" Kidd admitted with a smirk and shrug, his voice almost lost in the wind. "You can ask when she comes back, eh?"

"…" Killer stared at him. "She'll be pissed if you do something stupid."

Kidd's grin widened tenfold. "I highly doubt it," he countered confidently. "Can't get pissed if nothing happens."

* * *

><p>"<em>Go!<em>" Gabriella ordered, pointing towards the three devil clones with her Ohdan's blade. "Kill him!"

At her command, the devils dashed forward in their elemental forms, spiraling like a beam where the three clones stood. The shockwave of energy when the elemental beam collided with the floor shook the walls, making the entire tower tremble from the power. Gabriella held her ground despite the act of nature trying to bring her down, the cold glare of her golden eyes fixated on the fight.

Glacier, Icy Princes of the hells chilled the room like a blizzard, ice crystals clinging to the stone as the devil emerged from the snow. The devil's skin along with her robes blended with the background of white, the only thing standing out against the ivory shade was her pale blue locks and the piercing crimson irises of her eyes. Glacier grimaced deeply at the sight of the first devil clone, and with a graceful step forward on the ice with her bare feet, she whispered against the wind. The cold breeze rushed passed her lips, hissing in the breeze and froze the first clone before he could even more to counterattack or even dodge.

Behind the thick layer of ice creeping along his skin, the first clone's eyes shifted back and forth and he tried to move his fingers, the faint glow of gold melting the ice suddenly as the heat grew intense, the flames of an outside source growing stronger and stronger until it was hot enough to peel skin and muscle from bone that turned to ash.

Blaze, the mighty Fire King leapt from the inferno, loyal cutlass firmly in hand and swimming in flames. The ancient devil of fire landed, his feet making two large craters under his soles. Then with a hefty swing of his fiery blade, the flames swept around the room towards the first clone entrapped in a pillar of ice. The logic of a mortal would think this plan to be foolish, but for those that wandered the realms of Hell saw this as the perfect plot of destruction. Demonic ice and fire were polar opposites, and when the two came in contact, the chemical reaction was an explosion.

The cloud of ash and sulfur infected the air, debris flying through the smoke. But instead of the rocks ramming into walls and collapsing upon the floor, they hovered in the air, shuddering violently. Then the boulders rushed through the air once more, directly in the large palm on the ancient devil Quaker.

The ancient devil controlled the earth, using his physical strength to hurl the boulders towards the second devil clone, but it was proving to be difficult to land a hit. The veins of stress and frustration pulsed from the tan skin of the earth devil when he saw that the second clone leap around boulders or even use the momentum of the large rocks to cut them clean in half with only his finger or foot; the second clone was only showing off his power.

But the cocky attitude of the second clone became his weak point, and in his blind spot, a boulder rammed into his back. The force behind the large rock was more intense than anything the earth devil had behind his throws.

The roar of winds rushed through the space, howling through ever crack to make a deadly sound as the powerful currents lifted the rumble from the ground and forced it into the air. Dash, the ancient devil of air moved her arms about wildly, the winds following the motion. The rumble with harsh wind behind it slammed repeatedly into the second devil clone, the rocks like punches the forced him back over and over until the second clone was literally between a rock and a hard place.

The crack of rocks echoed off the walls, the chips creating pebbles that bounced off their mother source and onto the floor. Then the chips of rocks were washed up in the water, the liquid vivid with life as it swirled around the area like a dangerous snake. The water control by Tidal, swirled around the third devil clone in combat with Strike. The Thunder Lord's skin pulsed with streams of electricity, the water coiled around them, constricting the dueling area. A smirk spread across the third clone's lips, and ignoring the sharp sting of energy burning his flesh, he grabbed onto the ancient lightning devil's wrist.

Push and pull, tug-a-war broke out between devils as the clone tried to shove the Thunder Lord into the water, but with a frightening zap, the third clone was forced to let go with a hiss. The skin on the clone's palms turned black as ash and blood seeped from fresh wounds that reeked of burned flesh. Then Strike slammed his hands upon the third clone's shoulders, the power of his magic coursing through the clone's body, the electricity sticking to him like glue. And with a leap out of the typhoon spiraling around them, the ancient lightning devil escaped the water prison. Once out of harm's way, Tidal closed trapped the devil within a shell of water, the popping zaps intensifying to heighten the damage of electrocution caused upon the devil.

On the outside, it looked like the six devil obliterated the three devil clones, but that was far from the truth. They fought admirably to kill the Copy Cat clones, and they did do quite a lot of damage, but it was not enough. The first emerged from the explosion of demonic ice and fire with barely a scratch on his skin nor a tear on his robes. The second broke free of the sandwiched space between wall and stone as if he had a guardian angel protecting him from the blow. Then the third sprang from the dangerous, electrified waters only soaked to the bone rather than fried inside and out.

Three devils are unaffected by the attacks, and by the matching smirks on their lips, they were prepared for a counterattack. Their bodies shimmering in gold, the light growing brighter and brighter until nothing could be seen through a thick veil of white.

The summoner yelped, shielding her eyes from the bright flare, but she could block out the screams she heard in the background. When the light faded, she slowly opened her eyes. Adjusting to the change, she saw the image of her devils out cold on the floor and the three devil clones sweeping dust and ash from their robes or wringing out water.

Gabriella clenched her fists, her Ohdan's blade trembling in her grip. Damn fucking devil, was the only thing racing through her mind. These were some of the powerful devils of the ancient race and he defeated them so easily.

"You should know that it would be simply, Little Roland," the first clone said, as if he read her mind; though it was probably written clearly on her face.

"I did destroy a majority of the ancient race, did I not?" The second coolly asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

The third then waved a single finger back and forth. "Shame, shame," the devil clone tsked in mocking disappointment. "I am positive Calamity would have taught you this is your lessons."

"Seems that a certain fiery little ginger did not pay attention like she should have," the first snickered rudely as he nudged the second clone in the side, making him join in on the laughter.

Gabriella's cheeks blistered hot pink out of embarrassment and rage; oh how she hated to be mocked, especially by this devil of all people. A growl rumbling in the back of her throat, she plunged her blade into the ground and then screeched: "_Return!_" and the unconscious devils heeded to the command and snapped back to the sword. The six needed a rest; they may not have defeated the devil, but they had to have made a dent.

With a grunt, she removed the blade from the floor and shifted back and forth on the balls of her feet. She was raring and ready to go, blade directed towards the three clones and in her free hand she held the chain of the Demon Claw firmly in her grip.

"I shall take this," the first clone declared boldly, smirking towards the other two as he stepped forward. "It would be overkill if we all fought at once."

"And we don't want the games to end so quickly, is that not right?" The second chuckled as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That would be rather boring," the third nodded in agreement. "Plus, giving a sense of false hope is rather…entertaining."

Gabriella ground her teeth together as she watched the three clones giggle away like a merry bunch of chimney sweeps. Once she got through with them, they wouldn't be laughing anymore. She was going to make them eat their words, one at a fucking time.

The swiped of her hand across the open air beside her commanded a portal to appear in its place. Then she stepped through with a dark scowl and death grip on the hilt of her Ohdan's blade. Zip; the sound rebounded off the walls as the vortex closed, a hushed silence taking over. The first devil clone scanned the area, eyes closed to the dim surroundings and he used his sense of hearing to pick up the portal that could open anywhere in the room. Then the sound reappeared again, but instead of the logical single portal reopening, the zippering was duplicated; there were two portals in two in different places.

The glimmer of gold smoldered on the wall with light, the vortex larger than any mere human would need, especially a shorty like the summoner mage. A roar then shook the walls, the rumbling of the floor becoming more intense until from shimmering light came a Callon, the demon rolling out in a giant blurry sphere of muscle.

The floor cracked violently under the demon, a trench in its wake as it hurtled towards the first clone. The first's crimson eyes opened wide in shock and he quickly dodged the speedy Callon; the demons may have been lower on the hierarchy scale, but they were built to have impressive speed that make their skin harder than titanium. Best not to get crushed to death by that thing.

The first clone skidded along the ground, his eyes observing the demon come to a screeching stop so it didn't fall off the tower and plummet to its death. With a smirk, the first chuckled, but then he inhaled sharply when he felt the murderous presence behind him. He shifted entire weight to his left, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge of the summoner mage's blade, the sword cutting through the fabric at his side.

Furious, the first swiftly moved his weight around again, forcing all his strength and power in his foot as he reared it around for kick to the summoner mage's gut.

Gabriella's eyes opened wide, feeling the pounding of her heart burning her ribs and everything flashed before her eyes. She didn't have the time to dodge the hit, but at the last moment she twisted on the heel of her foot and turned to the side.

The top of clone's foot made contact with her waist, and she grunted at the brute force, the weight sweeping her off her feet and into the back aimed for the wall, but her body never made contact with the crude stone. The Callon rushed to cushion her fall, the demon speeding rapidly towards midair right behind the summoner mage, the demon uncurled its large body to catch her and then recoiled once more, protecting her from anymore bodily damage.

Thud, the sound was brittle, the structure of the floor almost about to give way under all the abuse. Yet, it remained strong, but sturdy it might not be. Nonetheless, the Callon released the summoner mage from its warm embrace.

The summoner mage staggered slightly under the weight of dizziness and also the unsettling flooring, and it didn't help when the tiled began to shake even more.

The mixed roar of terror and rage ripped through atmosphere, and from behind, Gabriella witnessed the first clone lift her mighty Callon from its study feet and high over his head. Then with one single motion, the high devil threw the lessor demon back into the portal it came from.

Then the first quickly whipped around, glare craved into his features, and with a single hand with fingers spread out wide, he readied to swipe at her with gleaming red stained claws. Gabriella dodged the attacks one after another by stepping backwards over and over, the devil's clone relentless in his charge to rip her to shreds.

Then were at a standstill, but not for long. She was testing the devil's patience and she knew the other two clones would join in soon. Gabriella couldn't have that, which meant that she needed to wrap this battle up before the others could join in. Briskly, the summoner mage switched from the cushiony defensive status and went on the risky offensive.

Ducking the sharp swipe of claws, she hastily shifted her weight to the side and twisted around, blade firmly in the blade around, she sliced the sword down upon the first's shoulder, nicking his robes to reach flesh hidden behind the thick cloth.A small stream of blood trickled through the air and the expression of agitated fury grew on the first clone's face when he saw the sight. Copy Cat tried to kick her again, sloppily winding his leg around, but she avoided it easily by sprinting around behind the devil's clone.

Gabriella skidded back to a halt, dodging the closer encounter, but she wasn't out of the red. Her back rammed into something hard, yet soft at the same time, and there was a deep chuckle when contact was made. Arms suddenly slipped under her and hands clamped down behind her neck; she was pinned against the devil's chest, the awkward position twisting her arm and forcing her to drop her weapon.

She struggled against the prison, thrashing about to weaken the hold, but it only tightened, the pressure causing bruises on her skin instantly. Her mind screamed at her to stop, but her heart refuted, yelling at her to never give up. But she had to calm down; the stakes were too high. She needed to lay low and collect her composure and plot silently. Copy Cat wouldn't kill her until she was truly worn out.

The first clone stepped forward, the devil cradling her chin and none too kindly jerked her head up to force her to look him in the eyes. "You tried so hard, Little Roland."

"But all for naught," the second chuckled with a smirk as he loomed over her smugly.

Gabriella glowered at the two and jerked her head sharply away from the cold fingers, but only for those spider-like limbs to snap back. The devil clone's fingernails bit into her skin, making her hiss lightly at the tiny sting.

"Hmm…" the first clone hummed lightly in thought, turning her head side to side despite all the resistance she was giving him. "There is quite the enchantment upon you, Little Roland." He stated smoothly, glancing at her in mild amusement. "Tell me. What are you hiding?"

Gabriella refused to answer; her jaw locked in place and her scowled warningly at the devils clone.

The first stuck out his lower lip slightly. "Now, now. That is not very nice, Little Roland." He pouted disdainfully. "It is polite to answer a question when asked."

Gabriella glanced away, her eyes darting down to her stomach for only a brief moment before looking away again.

But the second noticed the action instantly and his eyes opened wide with shock. Then his eyes narrowed in amusement and he chuckled lightly. Nudging the first clone in side with his elbow, the second jerked his head towards the summoner mage.

The first picked up on the situation and he smirked. "Really, Little One?" he mused. "Did you really go into battle in such a state?"

Gabriella was silent, but her heartbeat quickened in pace.

"Looks like we have another little problem to deal with." The second clone purred mischievously. "Shall we put of the budding flame before it can truly shine?" he asked, his hand reaching out ominously towards the summoner mage.

"_**N—NO!**_"Gabriella shrieked, her heart pounding so fast that the ringing resonated in her ears and she desperately tried to fight back, but the first of the devil clones stomped down on her foot while the third that had her pinned tightened his grip even more.

Her eyes were wide with fear at the first devil rested his palm flush against her abdomen, the cold chill making her shudder. Her breath was shallow and her head was throbbing with dizziness. This was the worst possible thing that devil could ever inflict upon her.

_Mortal!_

The sharp roar pierced the nerves of her mind and snapped her from her state or terror.

_Summon me now!_

Gabriella didn't have to be told twice, and closing her eyes, she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Hellion!"

As soon as she uttered the name, a roar erupted within the room and then the two devil clones before her were swiped away in a blink of an eye. Gabriella felt the sharp wind sting her skin, almost cutting flesh due to the speed and the whooshing sound rushed passed her ears. Then she felt the pressure from behind disappear, followed by the screech of pain and then tremble of walls shaking.

"Finally…" the ancient devil sneered, stepping out from the portal of shimmering gold. "Finally I get my chance to kill you for your crimes devil," and the ancient glanced up, piecing crimson eyes glowing gold with power bored holes into the souls of the clones. Then with a howl of rage, the ancient held out muscular arms whole screaming in a battle cry: "The day for punishment has finally arrived!"

Hellion's wings shuddered violently as the ancient rolled thick shoulders and neck, causing a loud crack to echo throughout the chamber. Then with a sneer that showcase sharp teeth stained with blood, the ancient dashed forward. Defying all laws of physics, the lumbering ancient disappeared, the only visible thing the naked eye could cling onto was Hellion's blurry outline.

Not even Copy Cat could predict the outcome, the first of the devil's clones falling victim to the razor blade talons of the ancient. Hellion's claws pierced the first clone's chest, blood gushing forwards and splattering against every surface it could cling to. Then with wicked smirk, the ancient chuckled darkly, a murderous glint in golden glowing crimson eyes. With ease, the ancient ripped the clone in half, the sound of muscles tearing, bones cracking and organs snapping in half ringing through the must atmosphere that reeked of iron.

Hellion threw out red tainted hands with a holler of bloodlust, the split corpse being flung from soaked claws and landing to the ground with a brittle thud. "You can't stop me Copy Cat!" The ancient laughed manically, whipping around to eye the target of long awaited rage. "I have been waiting for this moment for longer than you can't imagine," the ancient whispered, licking cracked lips with a long forked tongue. "I will have my revenge."

Hellion dashed forward again, the bellow of crackles stunning even the clones of Copy Cat; he knew the ancient had changed since the last time they fought centuries ago. The power and bloodlust that had been bottled up had finally been released, and he was truly the poor sap in the line of fire.

The second clone tried to fight back, calling forth an orb of gold magic, in the middle of the bundle light a laughing devil's skull. Then he shot it off, the bullet soaring towards the rampaging ancient. The attack made contact with the ancient's shoulder, the magic bullet exploding into flames of gold flames and caused Hellion to stagger in the rush upon the clone. Hellion let out a roar of agony, clutching the fresh wound that added to already scarred crimson skin, but the pain only fueled the fire of hatred burning in the ancient's eyes.

"You shall pay for that!" Hellion shrieked, ignoring the blood pouring from the injury and barreled towards the second clone once more.

The second tried to dodge, but the ancient grabbed the devil clone by the tail and yanked him back, slamming him to the ground at full force. Then Hellion brought up a single foot and rammed it down upon the stunned clone, curled claws piercing flesh and muscles crushing bone.

"Heh…heh…" Hellion huffed through staggered breaths, slowly turning towards the last of the clones. "Only one little bastard left."

The last of the clones ground his teeth together, and he reached into his pocket to pull out his trump card, but it would never see the light of day. There was a sudden magical pull, forcing him back to merge with his main body and he vanished from the battlefield.

"Copy Cat!"Hellion roared bloody murder. "Stop playing games! Stop hiding!"

Gabriella's eyes suddenly opened wide and she whipped her head towards the hole that was created when she brought the first clone of Copy Cat here. Oh no he didn't, she sneered in her mind and quickly rushed to pick up her Ohdan's blade, holding the hilt firmly in her grip. Then with her free hand, she swiped her golden glowing hand to open a portal and leaped through.

"You can't run from me, you bloody bastard!" Gabriella roared as she traveled the portal, the vortex opening so she could see the top of his head.

In a flash, the memories of what happened in the other battle rushed back to the devil when he saw the look of rage craved into the summoner mage's eyes. He shifted on his heels to dodge, but he was too late.

The sharp blade of Caden's black iron sword pierced his heart, and he let out a screech of pain, the holler letting out a sonic wave that cracked his magic in half. He was too weak, too weak so handle the enchanted blade and despite having one more life to spare, it didn't have the strength to summon it.

His last two lives were slaughtered in one single blow of revenge and hatred.

Forevermore, darkness took over his scenes for all eternity.

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><p><strong>Beta read by praeses<strong>

**Everyone wish twinklesilverstar luck on getting better. :)**


	121. Chapter 118: The End

**Well, Honey Bears, thank you for all the suppose over the past two years with His Heir. I had a bit of a rough start with this one; I took a three week break from it in the beginning due to writer's block, but I'm glad I got over that. I could have never written Bones without His Heir's. Bones would just be one floppy mess without it. Also, I'm glad for all of those that toughed through those mistakes and OoC moments with Kidd. I had fun writing dem OoC bits and I'm glad you found them funny or enjoyed them.**

Velonica14: Hellion is a fun character, but a little OP to have running around, so that guy doesn't come out a lot. :p

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Those fight scenes were crazy, getting the flow was harder than hard, but I think I couldn't have written it any better (minus any error I have in there...lol).

Alpenwolf: You really want Copy Cat to Rot in hell. xD

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Dat Intro...made my day. xD Oh, I don't plan on dropping Ameria and Gabriella off that soon...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but plot and OCs are mine.

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><p>Chapter 118: The End<p>

The rush of the wind blew passed her ears, and the summoner mage tilted her head back with the breeze. Resting against the trunk of a tiny tree, she sighed deeply, the bare skin of her back rubbing against the rough bark. Then, she frowned, staring up at the sky bathed in pale navy blue with a hand over her stomach. Her skin felt tight, and it rumbled with painful cramps; she hated the feeling, but she was sure it was only a phase.

The slightly disheartening sound made Madeline sitting at her side glance away from her bowl of rice and turn to the ginger. "Still feeling bad?" She inquired with concern.

"I talked to the enchantress," Gabriella sighed again, her brows knitted together from the agony. "But I think it's not helping anymore."

"Just like medicine, eh?" Bedros huffed as he bit down gently on his fork. "Take it too much and your body gets used to it, right?" then he sneaked a glance and smirked towards the ginger.

"…Shut up." Gabriella grumbled under her breath in annoyance.

"Maybe you should ask for a strong spell, Abbie." Bedros suggested with a chuckle and jabbed her forehead lightly with his finger. "That'll knock your bug to its knees."

"That's a bad idea." Madeline bluntly stated.

"Yeah, bad idea." Gabriella agreed with a nod. "I don't know if it'll cause damage…" she trailed off thoughtful, tapping her chin and looking up to sift through memories.

"_Damage?_" Bedros stuttered in shock, his eyes wide. "What the _fuck's_ wrong?" he asked with a curious brow raised.

"It's nothing…" Gabriella slowly replied, shifting her gaze away from the stone devil.

"Like hell it ain't!" Bedros snapped back angrily and whacked her upside the head.

A vein of irritation pulsed from Madeline's brow and she growled bitterly in rage as she proceeded to punch Bedros right in the cheek.

"_Ouch!_" The stone devil yelped in pain and cradled his cheek, staring wide eyed at the thin summoner mage. "Why'd you do that?!"

"_Don't you dare hit Gabs._" Madeline threatened coldly, a murderous scowl carved on her features.

Bedros flinched violently at the tone and expression being directed at him. "Geez, what the hell's gotten into you, Maddie?" the stone devil mumbled nervously. "You're so violent today…"

Madeline huffed, hands planted firmly on her hips. "I have every right to be," she declared proudly.

"Tryin' to be protective when Kidd's gone, hmm?" Bedros mused, wiggling his eyes questionably and then bluntly insulted: "That's stupid."

"You're right," Madeline agreed without a shred of emotions on her face. "You're right it is since that's not the reason."

"Then what is the reason?" Bedros asked, curious of the truth as he nudged the summoner mage in the side. "Can I know; can I, can I,_ can I~?_"

"I…I," Gabriella murmured, glancing away with a hand on the exposed skin of her stomach. "I think I need to tell Kidd first before anyone else."

"_Eh?_" Bedros blinked. "Why Kidd first?" he asked in confusion, but then his brows furrowed in confusion. "Hey wait! Maddie already knows!"

"She's my best friend…" Gabriella countered gently.

"But I wanna know, too~" Bedros whine, pouting in disappointment.

"Kidd gets to know first." Gabriella firmly reinstated again.

"But…" Bedros mumbled, his eyes narrowing in concern. "I don't think that'll be a good idea."

Gabriella's brow rose. "Why not?"

"Eh?" Bedros blinked in shock. "Haven't you seen the papers?"

Madeline and Gabriella exchanged glances, both of them shrugging when their saw that the other had no idea what the stone devil was talking about. Then, they shook their heads together while looking back to the stone devil.

"Well," Bedros clicked his tongue, and crossed his arms over his chest. "He's probably in a really pissy sour mood..."

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><p>The streets of town were vacant of any living souls, the sight of the Jolly Rogers belonging to the crews of the Worst Generation making every innocent lock their doors and board their windows. Gabriella scanned the area with worried gold eyes as she bit the tip of her thumb nervously; never before had she felt so anxious. Madeline had been pulling her by the hand since they left the portal at the docks. She didn't know if it was because of seeing Kidd again, hormones or a bad blend of both.<p>

Madeline squeezed her hand reassuringly, leading the three to where the crew was, the only thing the thin summoner mage's obsession was good for. She led them to a seedy back alley in that was snug between shoddy buildings all around. The thick stench of bitter ale and fish blended together, and the smell made the summoner mage gag.

Hand over her mouth, Gabriella tried to keep her lunch down as Madeline opened the door to the inn, the entire floor empty save for one lone soul sitting at the bar.

Madeline happily gasped and instantly let go of Gabriella's hand, screaming: "Killer Baby!"

Without a second glance, Killer lashed out his arm, his knuckles collided with the thin summoner mage's nose, knocked Madeline back and knocking her out cold in a flash.

Bedros sighed, shaking his head. "I'll take 'er to Doc…" he muttered in annoyance as he stalked over to where the thin summoner mage laid. Then, he grabbed Madeline by the ankles and started to drag her out of the room. "Just got back from war and she does this," he grumbled under his breath. "Stupid Maddie…"

Gabriella chuckled nervously as she walked completely into the room, the door closing right behind with a loud creak. Looking around, she wondered where the rest of the crew was; she figured they would be drowning their sorrows in ale, but apparently that wasn't the case. Then, suddenly any further thought was put on hold when she heard the hurried feet stomping on the floorboards right above her.

"Gabriella!" It was none other than Daniel, the boy clomping down the steps and then made a beeline to the summoner mage, wrapping his arms around her hips and smothered his face to her stomach.

"Dannie baby…" Gabriella drew out slowly, staring down at him. "Why are covered in bandages?"

"'Cause I was a part of it, Gabriella!" Daniel proudly boasted, a scarlet blush on his grinning cheeks.

Gabriella was silent, a dead expression on her face as she mechanically turned her head towards the masked blonde. "…Killer." she then smiled, but there was no emotion behind the grin. "Why is my baby covered in bandages?"

Killer's Adam's Apple bobbed up and down as gulped. "…He got knocked over by a large wave helping on deck." the masked blonde explained. "He was in the infirmary with Doc after that. Along with Benjamin and the dogs."

Gabriella tilted her head to the side with a gentle smile. "Are you lying to me?"

"N—no…" Killer stuttered.

"Good." Gabriella grinned cheerfully, but there was nothing cheerfully about her tone and words. "Because if you are, you'll regret it~"

"I promise, I promise," Killer put his hands up in defense. "I am_ not_ lying."

"Anyway…" Gabriella cleared her throat, snapping out of her potentially dangerous aura. "I heard the news…"

"Yeah…" Killer duly answered, glancing away from her.

Gabriella placed a hand on his shoulder. "You guys holding out okay?"

"…We'll survive," Killer sighed deeply, but then he looked towards the stairwell. "But Kidd's been locked up in his room ever since docking."

Gabriella didn't wait a moment to reunite with her boyfriend. With a small pat to Daniel's head, she made her way to Kidd. She hurried up the steps, hearing the familiar voices of her crew from behind the many doors she passed by in the narrow hallway. They were angry, furious with the outcome at the battle of Raftel, and they weren't the only ones.

It wasn't difficult finding the room Kidd was staying in. The multiple blood stains and weapon scars on every wooden surface within range of the door. Taking a deep breath in and then out, Gabriella slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door. Peeking in, she was greeted with the unwelcome surprise of a wooden chair being thrown at her.

The redhead roared as he threw the makeshift weapon, the chair hitting the door on the opposite side of the wall. Gabriella narrowly dodged the chair of death, her back completely against the wall and her heart nearly beating out of her chest. He didn't even take the time to look at who it was…

"_**I told everyone to leave me alone!**_" He bellowed at the top of his lungs as he plopped back down in his chair with arms folded over his chest.

Gabriella's back flush against the wall, she inhaled sharply, blinking in shock at the close call. "I…I missed you, too, babe." she then exhaled shakily.

At the sound of her voice Kidd shot up, the chair's legs screeching along the floor as he turned sharply to face her. His eyes were wide as he uttered her name, completely out of breath. "_Gabriella_..."

"Don't worry," Gabriella reassured him with a smile as she stepped away from the wall. "I'm fine."

The concern on Kidd's suddenly vanished and he rolled his eyes, and she figured the sour mood he was in before came back since he saw she wasn't in any danger. He just pulled the seat closer to him and then sat back down, just like that.

"I only got a few bruises from battle." She brought up in casual conversation as she shut the door with the back of her heel, hiding the broken wooden chair in the hallway. "I had my guard up, just like I promised." she declared proudly, standing before him with hands on her hips.

Kidd didn't say a word. There was a tiny grumble that uttered past his lips as he propped his elbow up on the desk and cradled his chin.

Gabriella sighed and then she plopped down on his lap, folding her hands on his shoulder covered in fresh bandages. "You look like a mummy though," she said to rile him up, but all she got was an eye roll. So playfully, she straddle his hips and cupped his cheeks, huskily whispering: "Cat got your tongue?"

Then she kissed him. Her lips moved wildly against his, prying them open so her tongue could wiggle in between. She moaned at the familiar taste on her tongue and also enjoyed the pleasure of his touch embracing her body, but yet there was a damper on the part. A _very_ large damper that was soaking wet on the romantic mood. The moan of bliss quickly turned into an aggravated groan; despite all the pleasure, she wasn't enjoying something as sweet as a kiss.

She pulled away, and then gently slapped him across the cheek. "It's no fun if you don't kiss back, jerk."

Kidd growled, snapping his neck back and he hissed sharply through clenched teeth. "_Stop joking around._"

"_I'm not_," Gabriella countered firmly and cradled his cheeks again. "Don't let something like this bring you down. You're stronger than this. And," she added. "You're still _my_ King," then she kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"…Thanks." Kidd grumbled softly under his breath, looking away with a tiny blush on his cheeks.

"Feel better?" Gabriella mused amiably.

"I can at least be at ease knowing that you're safe," Kidd sighed, lounging back in his seat and rested his hands on her thighs.

"Yup," Gabriella hummed softly, resting her forehead against his shoulder and then looked down at her stomach were she placed a hand against her scarred skin. "We're both safe."

"…We?" Kidd inquired in slight confusion. "When did you ever doubt my safety?" He scoffed.

"_Oh._" Gabriella then pulled away, her face pale and her eyes wide. "Oh, right," and she stood up from her seat on his lap and covered her mouth with her hand. "I—I forgot to tell you."

Kidd shifted anxiously in his seat. "…Tell me what?" he eyed her curiously.

With a soft smile on her lips, Gabriella placed both her hands on her stomach and blush scarlet red. "Kidd. I'm pregnant."

_Coming soon…_

_One journey's end is another's beginning. Something sinister is brewing above the clouds and the players have collected the pieces for the chess game over all magic. Join the King's Alliance as they charge headfirst into their next adventure to the mystic realm of Origins._

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><p><strong>Beta read by twinklesilverstar<strong>


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